 "Photo:")
It's Oct. 11, 1972. She awakes early to review her notes. Without a hair dryer, she pins her tresses in a bun after accidentally being drenched by the shower head. She meets a friend for breakfast, all the while pondering how she could possibly be more persuasive today than she had been almost a year ago at her first argument before the Supreme Court.
It's a rarity for the high court to order a second argument - almost as rare as hearing a woman argue it. She may be a bit less nervous this time, but the pressure has only heightened as eyes all over the world watch her unravel a controversial thread in the fabric of women's rights. She's 27 years old. This is her first-ever contested case. For Sarah Weddington, today is a big day.
"If you had said to me on Oct. 11, 1972 that you would still be talking about this on Oct. 11, 2005, then I would have thought you were crazy," said Weddington of her experience successfully arguing the landmark case Roe v. Wade, which established American women's right to obtain an abortion.
Running half-court
Weddington described the years before Roe as "too early for women."
Upon graduating from the UT School of Law, she had a hard time finding a job and settled for being a lawyer's assistant. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, graduated from law school in the same class as Weddington, and ended up being a reporter, because nobody would hire her, Weddington said. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was doing volunteer work, because it was all she could find.
Weddington, now an author and UT professor, remembers being permitted to run only half-court when she played college basketball. "Most women just accepted it, but I was one of those women that said 'Why can't I just keep running?'" she said.
Her husband had to co-sign on her first credit card. Female teachers were forced to take leave or resign when they became pregnant, Weddington said. University Health Services would not administer birth control to a woman without proof they were at least six weeks away from marriage. The policy stated six weeks would ensure that a woman be protected on her wedding night.
Weddington was the first to point out there was no women's restroom in the Supreme Court lawyer's lounge. Until about 10 years ago, there still wasn't one, she said.
It's been over 30 years since Roe v. Wade, and Weddington feels the way of life before the case has largely been forgotten. This, along with drastic changes underway in the Supreme Court, has caused her to worry about the future of Roe.
"The Supreme Court is a space shield protecting Roe from the conservative federal officials that would overturn it in a second," Weddington said. "If the new justice opposes abortion, the gamma rays could melt, and the shield would no longer be protective."
Weddington also said that "Young women today don't know what it's like to live in a time of back-alley and coat-hanger abortions." Before Roe v. Wade, wealthy women underwent safe procedures by traveling to states where abortion was legal. Many poor and young women, however, suffered injury or death from attempting the procedure themselves or seeking it illegally.
Estimates of the annual number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
In 1930, abortion was listed as the official cause of death for almost 2,700 women, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. The death toll had declined to just under 1,700 by 1940, and to about 300 by 1950, most likely because of the introduction of antibiotics. By 1965, the number of deaths due to illegal abortion had fallen to just under 200, but they still accounted for 17 percent of all deaths associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The report states these are just the numbers officially reported; the actual number was likely much higher.
Arguing Roe
In 1967, a group of UT students sought Weddington's advice on whether it would be illegal to circulate information about safe places to seek abortion.
"I said, 'I don't know. I'll go to the library and look it up.' If I would have known I'd end up at the Supreme Court, I probably would have said no," said Weddington, who at that time was the first and only woman to have an office at the School of Law.
In the early 1970s, Weddington, along with the students, decided to file a lawsuit claiming the Constitutional right to privacy should apply to a woman's reproductive choices. Little did they know it was one of several similar suits across the country and it would end up in the high court.
Weddington described her first appearance before the Supreme court as "awe-inspiring."
"I was so frightened," she said. "I had no idea if I had won or lost. I especially didn't think I'd be back to reargue."
It's very rare for a case to be reargued, and rumors circulated as to why Roe. v. Wade was heard again. Maybe it was because there were only seven judges the first time, as opposed to nine. Maybe it was because ex-President Richard Nixon, who vocally opposed abortion, was campaigning for re-election.
But Weddington says rumors are "a dime a dozen" in Washington.
The second argument was much less intense than the first, she recalled.
"Questions were popping in the first argument," she said, snapping her fingers to illustrate the justices' rapid-fire questions. "The second time it seemed as though they had already made up their minds."
The justices' lack of response on Oct. 11 left her more nervous than she was before. Now she could only wait. The decision in favor of her argument would not come back until Jan. 22.
Window to the past
A handmade goose-quill pen hangs from the wall of Weddington's office. It is the same pen that was waiting in her seat on Oct. 11, 1972 when she entered the court room. The pens are given to anyone who argues before the Supreme Court - Weddington has two.
She pointed out other memorabilia: pictures taken at fancy dinners with various presidents and first ladies; original paintings, including a mural of influential figures with Weddington's face in the foreground.
Her tone became serious as she came across a picture of the Supreme Court justices who decided Roe.
"We were lucky. If you notice, they're all men - one black," Weddington said as she ran her finger across the autographed photo.
"I'm hobbled to keep working on Roe and not just check it off the list, but I want to work on new things," she said. "I think none of us would want to feel they were at the peak of their career at 27."
But Weddington said she is content that she has made an impact on society.
"Everyone wants to know they have made a difference," said Weddington. "I know I have. I may be tired, but I am not bored."
Recent Governmental Action on Abortion
TX HB 15 (Informed Consent Legislation) - Passed in 2003. Requires that women wait 24 hours after visiting a clinic before having an abortion.
TX SB 419 - Enacted in June 2005. Minors must obtain parental consent before getting an abortion in Texas.
TX HB 2907 - Introduced in March 2005. Would prohibit abortion throughout all stages of pregnancy except in cases of life endangerment in Texas. Would take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment.
Partial Birth Abortion Ban - Signed into legislation by President Bush in November 2003, it is the first direct national restriction on any method of abortion since Roe v. Wade.
Sources: Texas Legislature Web site, www.state.tx.us and Alan Guttmacher Institute
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