In 1973, Sarah Weddington and fellow attorney Linda Coffee filed a class-action suit on behalf of a pregnant woman, challenging a Texas state law that prohibited termination of pregnancy.
Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who successfully defended the historic case “Roe v. Wade” in the Supreme Court of the United States, died last Sunday (26), aged 76. The information was confirmed by a former student, who added that Sarah had died of “a series of health problems”, and disclosed by the local press. Weddington had been in poor health for some time, and the cause of death is unknown at this time, Hays told The Associated Press.
In 1973, Sarah Weddington and fellow lawyer Linda Coffee filed a class-action suit on behalf of a pregnant woman, challenging a Texas state law that prohibited abortion. “With Linda Coffee, she litigated what was the first case of her career, Roe v. Wade, when she was just out of law school,” tweeted Susan Hays, one of Sarah’s alumni. “She was my teacher” and “opened my eyes to the fragility of my rights and my freedoms,” she wrote.
Jane Roe’s case – whose real name was Norma McCorvey – against then-Dallas County Attorney Henry Wade eventually reached the US Supreme Court, which ruled in 1973 in favor of abortion.
Since then, the right to terminate a pregnancy in the United States, which is not guaranteed by federal law, has been based on the jurisprudence established by the highest legal authority in the country in the “Roe v. Wade” case. Which means that the Supreme Court held that the Constitution guarantees a woman’s right to abortion and that States cannot deny it. In 1992, the same Court clarified that this right is valid until the fetus is “viable”, that is, around the 22nd or 24th week of gestation.
Currently, the majority of Supreme Court justices in the country are willing to change the legal framework that has guaranteed the right to the procedure for nearly 50 years, either by restricting the conditions for its realization or by nullifying it completely.
Last December 1, US President Joe Biden declared that he “continues” to support the “Roe v. Wade” case
Sarah Weddington Net Worth
Sarah Weddington Net Worth at the time of her death is $1.6 Million. However, her monthly income is not displayed yet.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
