Roe v. Wade, Still to be Defended

Attorney visits USM

In 1973, a young female lawyer from Texas argued a landmark, culture-changing case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Sarah Weddington will visit USM to discuss Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision she argued and won that made abortion legal in the U.S., at 12 noon, Thursday, September 23, in Luther Bonney Auditorium on USM’s Portland campus. She comes to USM and Maine at a time that the state faces a referendum in November banning a rare but controversial abortion procedure. Weddington's remarks will include discussion of the upcoming state referendum, current legal restrictions on third-term abortions and the proposed ban in terms of nationwide challenges to Roe.

The free, public lecture by Weddington is cohosted by USM's Women's Studies Program and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. Weddington also will sign copies of her book on Roe v. Wade and the history of the reproductive rights movement, "A Question of Choice."

Weddington, in 1972, was the first woman from Austin elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where she served three terms and addressed a variety of issues on women's rights. As assistant to the President from 1978 to 1981, she served Jimmy Carter in selecting women for federal judiciary and other appointments, co-chaired the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Mid-Decade Conference on Women in Copenhagen in 1980, and implemented other programs to ensure the equal treatment of women.

She is a past president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and has received numerous honors for leadership in women's and reproductive rights.

Weddington is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, as well as a number of honorary doctorates. She is currently writing a book on the impact of individual activism on public policy planning, "The Power of One."

For more information on the lecture, call Women"s Studies at 780- 4289.

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