Roe v. Wade attorneys revisit case, look to future

Sarah Weddington said after the U.S. Supreme Court declared access to a safe and legal abortion to be a constitutional right on Jan. 22, 1973, she thought she would never have to deal with the issue again.

Weddington and Linda Coffee, a pair of Texas attorneys, successfully argued Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court more than four decades ago. On Sunday, they participated in a panel discussion about the landmark case and the still politically charged topic of legal abortion. The event, a fundraiser organized by the National Women's Political Caucus-Texas, drew about 40 attendees to The Riveter in downtown Austin.

Forty-six years after the high court's decision, several anti-abortion laws were approved by various state legislatures this year. Nine states, including Georgia and Alabama, recently passed laws to restrict abortion, prompting legal arguments that abortion opponents hope will lead to the U.S. Supreme Court reconsidering the Roe v. Wade decision.

“A lot of people have given a lot of time and effort on very important issues,” said Weddington, who's 74 and lives in Austin. “When I look back and think about how different the world has become, especially for women, because of this lawsuit and others ... that is why I find it difficult to see a world where for the last 10 years there have been a number of lawsuits set up by those opposed to abortion being legal, where the total purpose of law firms is to overturn Roe v. Wade and they’ve had some success.

"So now we’re going to have to work really hard to overturn that.”

Former Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who moderated the event and carried out an 13-hour filibuster against anti-abortion legislation in 2013, said undoing Roe v. Wade would hurt women and families.

In the recent legislative session, the state saw the passage of Senate Bill 22, which would prohibit cities and counties from using taxpayer dollars to fund or partner with abortion providers and their affiliates.

The bill targets agreements such as the one Austin has that allows it to rent a city-owned building at East Seventh and Chicon streets to Planned Parenthood for $1 a year — a lease that's in place until 2039. That health center, which does not provide abortions, served 5,153 patients with subsidized health care worth about $560,000 last year.

“We're not just talking about a fight to maintain safe and legal access to abortion care," Davis said. "We are talking about the fact that we are facing the reality that women's access to reproductive health care in its totality is under threat and that particularly the women who will feel this impact are women who don't have the resources to go elsewhere.

“I was one of those women in my young life and I fully understand and appreciate that many women have no alternative access to health care, but for Planned Parenthood and other family service providers like them. And it's incumbent upon all of us to continue to fight for the women who will follow us, to make sure that they have that care.”

As the debate about abortion and access to it continues across the country, Weddington said the biggest impact on it will be determined by who is appointed to the Supreme Court if there is a vacancy in 2020.

Female attorneys and women headed to law school said Sunday that Coffee, 76, and Weddington have served as inspirations while also paving a path for women in law.

Jennifer Hughes, an Austin attorney, said she hopes young women will continue to pursue legal careers and fight for women’s rights in the courtroom.

“The number of women going to law school is something that cheers both of us,” Weddington said. “We need women to take a place on advocacy issues. ... There are so many different issues impacting women — not just this one — and we are going to need a lot of lawyers.”