SARAH Weddington, who successfully argued the landmark Roe v Wade case that enshrined abortion as a legal right in the United States (US), died yesterday, according to a former student and media reports. She was 76.

Weddington had argued on behalf of plaintiff Norma McCorvey – known by the pseudonym “Jane Roe” – against Dallas district attorney Henry Wade in the US Supreme Court in 1973.

The top court ultimately ruled that access to abortion is a constitutional right – striking down restrictive state laws.

Weddington is believed to have been one of the youngest people ever to win a case before the US top court.

She died “after a series of health issues”, tweeted former student Susan Hays, a Democratic candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner.

Abortion has been legal for almost 50 years in the country, but remains a bitterly contentious issue, and access to the procedure varies from state to state.

Legal observers have predicted that the conservative-dominated Supreme Court will overturn Roe v Wade next year, which will pave the way for total bans at the state level.

Weddington expressed alarm when state-led abortion limitations mushroomed nationwide in 1998.

“I think of Roe v Wade as a house that is sitting on the edge of a beach, where the water is coming under it and taking the sand out.

“The house is still standing there, but it is more and more in danger of collapsing in the water.” – AFP, December 27, 2021.