In 1973, Sarah Weddington argued the Supreme Court case about the still-controversial topic of whether women have the constitutional right to have an abortion.
Today, 30 years after winning the landmark Roe v. Wade case, Weddington will speak at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 217 S. Capitol Ave. in Lansing.
The lecture, which begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday, will be on the sixth floor in the auditorium and is free and open to the public.
“I think one of the most important things about her is that she argued Roe when she was 26 years old,” said constitutional law Professor Phil Prygoski, who also is head of Cooley Law School’s Krinock Fund that supports the speakers.
The Cooley chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also helped sponsor the event.
He believes law students have much to gain from attending the lecture.
“One of the things (students) can get out of it is that they can work hard and succeed, even if you’re arguing an unpopular cause,” Prygoski said.
In Roe v. Wade, a pregnant unmarried woman named Norma McCorvey sued then Texas Attorney General Henry Wade for the right to have an abortion.
At the time, Texas outlawed abortions unless it saved a woman’s life.
Weddington, McCorvey’s lawyer, argued and won the case in the Supreme Court, legalizing abortions within the first and second trimesters of pregnancies nationwide.
She spoke seven years ago at Cooley Law School.
“It’s always valuable to hear from an attorney who was involved in landmark litigation before the Supreme Court,” said Susan Bitensky, professor of constitutional law at the MSU-Detroit College of Law.
“It should be a very good turnout, given the fact who she is,” Prygoski said.
“We’re not going to shy away from a controversial topic.”
But he recognized that Weddington’s lecture might incite an anti-abortion protest.
“Frequently when you have someone come in and talk about abortion, you’ll get the protesters,” he said.
Kathy Savard, international relations junior and president of MSU Students for Life, said she doesn’t support Weddington’s motivation for speaking.
“It’s very upsetting how Sarah Weddington used Norma McCorvey, who was a woman in a very bad situation,” she said, adding Weddington needs to “choose a stance that is more compassionate to human life.”
