Sarah Weddington talks about arguing Roe v. Wade in Owens Banquet Hall.
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Many people will keep papers, baseball cards or food in their drawers. Sarah Weddington, a lawyer from Abilene, Texas, keeps copy of Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court case she successfully argued at the age of 26 with a 7-2 decision, signed by all nine presiding justices.
Weddington spoke to a group of students and supporters in the local area last night to talk about the path she took that led her to win the famous case, as well as current women’s health issues still being faced today across the country.
“I look back and I think about how determined we were to make a bigger space for women to live in,” Weddington said. “There were so many limits on what women could do, what their dreams were and we were determined to push back those barriers.”
The event was sponsored by Womanspace, which according to the organization’s former president Jen Porter, is the only women’s political feminist activism group at Virginia Tech.
“They were planning on bringing her to speak to Roanoke in order to do a few fundraisers,” Porter, a first-year geography graduate student, said.
“But it didn’t seem right to only bring her for a day and only go to one or two events. So we extended the contract a little bit, Womanspace put some money in to help with costs and we got an event here at Virginia Tech, so we can cover donors in both Roanoke and Blacksburg, but also bring students into the mix.”
Her lecture was in conjuncture with various women’s rights events occurring this week, including the main event tonight on the Drillfield, Take Back the Night.
The room was full of students from universities around the area, members of the local Planned Parenthood affiliate and local supporters, many of whom were activists during the height of the women’s rights movement.
Roe v. Wade was argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court twice — once in 1971 and again in 1973. Although the plaintiff in the case was a Texas woman under the fake name Jane Roe, who wished to get an abortion in Texas but was refused the right, Weddington said the case for her began much earlier while she was at the University of Texas.
“It was partially looking at all the ways women were limited,” Weddington said. “One of the ways that was most frustrating was the issue of contraception and abortion. The University of Texas in 1969 at the health center had a policy that no women could have contraception unless it was certified that she was within six weeks of marriage.”
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 29 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I suppose the next speaker will be Merle Hoffman, founder of CHOICES, amajor abortion center in NYC.Those in attendance may hear some of these " gems " ; " the act of abortion positions women at their most powerful, and that's why it's so strongly opposed by many in society ", How about this one ! " my parents who made the choice to abort knew they were making the right decision so vital it was " worth stopping the heart ".
Oh, what the heck, one more. " Abortion is as American as apple pie ". Girls , get out your flags and start waving !!
Can't really refute that quote. Abortion on demand has been legal for 40 yrs. when 1 of 3 women will kill babies and when some communities have more babies aborted than being born.Jessie & Al ,where are you when we need you ! 50 million and counting !
And in closing, Ms.Hoffman will encourage those in attendance to be more " open " in speaking about thier abortions like they speak of " bikini wax ". ** Beach Boy music fills the venue !!!
" Although they know God's judgment that those who do such things deserve to perish , they not only do such things but also approve of others who do them ".
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I support a woman's right to have an abortion, but I feel that if this country had better sex education beyond abstinence-only and improved access to contraception, we wouldn't see so many needing abortions. Incidentally, it should be noted that before birth it is a fetus (not a baby) which cannot survive on its own before 23 weeks, and that legislation based on religious views is illegal under the Constitution. I do not WANT women to have abortions, but I want them to have the right to choose, because I realize that it isn't right to force my opinions on others.
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If only more people could make the same statement about more issues.
I WANT xyz, but I can't force xyz on other people.
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“For the question remains, do women want abortion? Not like she [sic] wants a Porsche or an ice cream cone. Like an animal caught in a trap, trying to gnaw off its own leg, a woman who seeks an abortion is trying to escape a desperate situation by an act of violence and self-loss. Abortion is not a sign that women are free, but a sign that they are desperate.”
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I wish people were more focused on the serious issues at hand, instead of trying to regulate women's personal lives and vaginas.
Global warming?
Genocide?
Recession?
Racism?
Once again, the USA is the laughingstock of the world.
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Nothing can be more serious than answering this eternal question : " If you died yesterday, where would you be today ?". selah
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