Sarah Weddington, the pro-abortion attorney who argued the landmark Roe v. Wade case that led to the legalization of abortion in the United States in 1973 and the deaths of more than 60 million preborn babies, has died at the age of 76. Weddington was only 27 years old when she argued that abortion should be legal in what would become one of the most devastating cases to human life in U.S. history.
“Sarah Weddington died this morning after a series of health issues,” Susan Hays, a Democratic attorney running for Texas agriculture commissioner and a former student of Weddington’s, wrote on Twitter on Sunday, December 26. “With Linda Coffee she filed the first case of her legal career, Roe v. Wade, fresh out of law school. She was my professor at UT, the best writing instructor I ever had, and a great mentor.”
Weddington herself had an illegal abortion in Mexico in 1967 during her third year of law school, according to her book. When Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”) became pregnant with her third child in 1969, abortion was still illegal in many U.S. states, including Texas. McCorvey, falsely claiming that she was raped, was referred to attorneys Weddington and Coffee.
“Well, I went to this attorney… He said that he just knew of these two young law students… Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee and that they were trying to challenge the Texas statute on abortion… and, would I like to meet these two women. Sure,” explained McCorvey. She agreed to be the plaintiff in the case that would topple abortion law in Texas and the nation, but was kept out of the loop with virtually no involvement in the actual case — and with Weddington and Coffee completely aware that McCorvey would never be able to have an abortion due to the length of time the case would take. McCorvey gave birth to a daughter who was placed for adoption.
“If Weddington really wanted to get Norma an abortion, she could have, as she was heavily involved in an abortion referral network in Texas,” explained Live Action president and founder Lila Rose. “Weddington had the resources. But she never mentioned this to Norma, because apparently that would mean losing the only plaintiff that she had with the necessary legal standing to challenge the law. How ironic, that Weddington championed abortion access for all women by secretly withholding an abortion from her client.”
READ: Reproductive injustice: Eliminating minorities and the poor through abortion
McCorvey, who eventually became pro-life, also said, “As soon as Sarah Weddington had my name on the affidavit, I had served my purpose.”
As reported by Live Action News, in 1992, Ron Weddington, a co-counsel in Roe v. Wade and Sarah Weddington’s ex-husband, wrote a letter to the Clinton administration which revealed the truth behind the push to legalize abortion. The goal was to “eliminate” certain people by using vasectomies, tubal ligations, abortions, and the RU-486 abortoin pill.” He wrote:
Sarah and I have been discussing the notion of our setting up [a non] profit corporation to license and distribute RU486. It’s possible that such an endeavor could be the vehicle for a number of birth control efforts. 26 million food stamp recipients is more than the economy can stand.
In addition to her role in Roe v. Wade, Weddington, who was born in Texas in 1945, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1973 and served three years. According to Fox News, she also served in the Department of Agriculture in 1977 and as assistant to President Jimmy Carter from 1978 to 1981. In 2017, she warned that then-President Donald Trump could put Roe v. Wade in jeopardy if he were able to appoint multiple justices to the Supreme Court.
“If Gorsuch’s nomination is approved, will abortion be illegal the next day? No,” Weddington told The Guardian. “One new judge won’t necessarily make much difference. But two or three might.” Trump went on to appoint three justices: Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
On December 1, 2021, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in regards to Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, which restricts abortion to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. It could be the case that reverses Weddington’s work in helping to legalize abortion in the U.S., which has ended the lives of more than 60 million preborn human beings.
“Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!
