Washington, Dec 27 : Sarah Weddington, US lawyer who won the landmark abortion rights case Roe v Wade, died at her home in Austin.
The 76-year-old Texas lawyer passed away on Sunday morning “after a series of health issues,” BBC quoted Susan Hays, Weddington’s former student and colleague as saying.
The ruling in 1973 Roe v Wade case came after a 25-year-old single woman, Norma McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, had challenged the abortion laws in Texas.
According to previous Texas law, abortion was unconstitutional except when the mother’s life was in danger.
McCorvey, pregnant with her third child, had filed the case in 1969 claiming that she was raped. However, her case was dismissed and was forced to give birth.
She re-appealed in US Supreme Court in 1973 where she was represented by 26-yearold Sarah Weddington and another lawyer Linda Coffee.
