When Sarah Weddington graduated from law school in the late 1960s, her first interview involved convincing a man that she didn’t have to be home to cook dinner every night.
It was just one of the many prejudices Weddington encountered on the way to becoming the youngest women to win a Supreme Court case — Roe v. Wade in 1973.
“The ideas about woman in those times were ridiculous,” she said.
Weddington shared her experiences with about 350 people in the Reitz Union Ballroom on Wednesday night in a program co-sponsored by Accent, Women’s History Month and the Graham Center for Public Service.
Throughout her life, she said she has owed her successes in pushing back barriers for women to her determination to make her mark.
“Leadership is the willingness and ability to leave your thumbprint,” she said.
Weddington was was asked to work on Roe v. Wade at 26 because she was the only woman willing to do it for free, she said.
After arguing the Roe v. Wade case before the Supreme Court, Weddington awaited the decision and was uncertain of the outcome of the case. She decided to go home and run for the Texas Legislature in 1972. She won and was re-elected twice.
She said throughout her time as a lawyer, politician and adviser to former President Jimmy Carter, she always turned to the law as her guiding light.
“I call law the wind beneath my wings,” she said.
During the question and answer session, some students asked her specifically about her opinion on the current arguments of abortion rights versus anti-abortion.
Again citing her dedication to the law, she gave public relations junior Ruth Michel her view on the moment when life begins.
“It’s the moment of birth that determines citizenship,” said Weddington, who was paid $7,500 to speak.
Michel, who is anti-abortion, later said she agreed with some of what Weddington said about women’s rights, but she still believes life begins sooner than birth.
“I think we can say life begins when an egg and a sperm come together,” she said.
