Sarah Weddington won the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court case that legalised abortions across the US.
Anti-abortion activists are urging the court to "protect unborn children", but experts warn of an increase in maternal mortality if abortion is restricted.The court's judgement in 1973 was based on the decision that a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy came under the freedom of personal choice in family matters as protected by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
The ruling came after a 25-year-old single woman, Norma McCorvey - under the pseudonym "Jane Roe" - challenged the criminal abortion laws in Texas that forbade abortion as unconstitutional except in cases where the mother's life was in danger.Ms McCorvey first filed the case in 1969. She was pregnant with her third child and claimed that she had been raped. But the case was rejected and she was forced to give birth.
However, in 1973 her appeal made it to the US Supreme Court where she was represented by Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, a former classmate of Weddington's from the University of Texas.
Roe v Wade also established that in the final trimester a woman can obtain an abortion despite any legal ban only if doctors certify it is necessary to save her life or health.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Two die in car and rare snow forecast for Seattle as storms batter western USThe Pacific Northwest faces a prolonged cold snap with heavy snow predicted for the mountains and even coastal cities
Read more »
Two die in car and rare snow forecast for Seattle as storms batter western USThe Pacific Northwest faces a prolonged cold snap with heavy snow predicted for the mountains and even coastal cities
Read more »
Covid news live: Australia case rise continues; Omicron grounds nearly 1,200 more US flightsNSW records 6,234 cases and Victoria 1,999 amid reported delays in PCR testing; Omicron surge grounds 1,000 more US flights over Christmas weekend
Read more »
ROBERT LACEY: The Queen revealed herself to us as she never has beforeROBERT LACEY: This wasn't just another Christmas broadcast. In the past few years we've got to know the Queen better, and this year she revealed herself to us more than ever before.
Read more »
US to lift southern Africa travel restrictions at end of 2021The Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 is now the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the United States
Read more »