A Roe v. Wade Conversation With Wendy Davis and the Attorneys Who Argued the Landmark Case

Linda Coffee (l) and Sarah Weddington (Photo by Megan Menchaca)

America today is in a very similar place to where it was before Roe v. Wade was decided, former state Sen. Wendy Davis said at an event hosted by the National Women’s Political Caucus-Texas on Sunday.

Davis led a panel at the Riveter with Dr. Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, the two Texas attorneys who successfully argued the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1973 that established a person’s right to choose whether to have an abortion. Both lawyers discussed their experiences arguing the case and emphasized the importance of the right to abortion for all women.

Coffee shared stories from people who were affected by Texas’ previous abortion laws, which prohibited abortions unless the mother’s life was at risk, prior to the SCOTUS ruling on Jan. 22, 1973. One woman, said Coffee, took planes across the country to get an abortion, while doctors faced criminal charges after recommending abortion providers.

“I didn't even know how many abortions were done. I just knew that if a woman got pregnant she had one choice,” Coffee said. “She had to either have the baby be adopted or she'd just have a horrible life.”

Weddington, at the time the youngest person to argue a case before the Supreme Court, said she thought she’d never have to deal with the issue of abortion again after Roe v. Wade was decided. She added: “However, that was incorrect.”

In the 46 years since Roe was decided, several states have enacted controversial laws to restrict abortion access, including laws passed by Georgia and Alabama this year. Davis, who filibustered anti-abortion legislation for 13 hours in 2013, said that despite Roe v. Wade, women without means still find themselves unable to access safe and legal abortion in Texas.

The audience listens to former state Sen. Wendy Davis (l), Linda Coffee, and Sarah Weddington (Photo by Megan Menchaca)

“We should center ourselves around the fact that for many women in our state and in other states as well, Roe may as well not even exist because [people] have lost their access,” Davis said. “That's something for us to keep in mind and for us to keep fighting for.”

As more laws are passed in attempts to get Roe overturned, Weddington said it would be a “real problem” if another vacancy on the Supreme Court was filled with a pro-life justice. She encouraged the crowd of around 40 women to vote for people who are pro-choice and to keep Ruth Bader Ginsburg in their prayers.

“There have been a number of lawsuits set up by those opposed to abortion being legal ... and they’ve really worked hard at it and had some success,” Weddington said. “So now we’re going to have to work really hard to overturn” that work.