x
Breaking News
More () »

What the Texas woman who first filed Roe v. Wade has to say about it getting overturned

With Roe v. Wade overturned, Linda Coffee has several concerns, namely how it will become more difficult for women to access an abortion.

MINEOLA, Texas — Fifty-two years ago, Linda Coffee paid $15 to file a lawsuit at the Dallas County courthouse.

The end result would become Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that gave women the constitutional right to an abortion.

On Friday, Coffee, now 79, was watching from her home in East Texas when the court reversed course, overruling Roe v. Wade and sending the decision on abortion to the states.

"I guess I could say it's bittersweet," Coffee said. "It just reminded me what it was like about 50 years ago when the late Sarah Weddington and I heard the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in our favor. I followed all the ups and downs for so many years. There were times I thought it might be overruled. It was only today that I really felt that it has been."

In the original case, Coffee and Weddington represented Norma McCorvey, who was pregnant and wanted an abortion. McCorvey became known as "Jane Roe," and her case was against Henry Wade, then the Dallas district attorney.

Coffee and Weddington initially won their case for McCorvey's right to an abortion, but Wade appealed and the case ended up at the Supreme Court. And the court ruled in Roe's favor.

The case has survived legal challenges, including Planned Parenthood v. Casey - until Friday.

With Roe v. Wade now overturned, Coffee has several concerns, namely how it will become more difficult for women to access an abortion.

"It's going to make it, at a minimum, a lot more expensive for women who want to have an abortion," Coffee said.

In Texas, people seeking an abortion will likely have to leave the state; Texas already bans abortions past six weeks, and the state's "trigger" law will ban abortions entirely 30 days after the Supreme Court releases its official judgement on Roe v. Wade.

Coffee said leaving Texas for an abortion in another state will be a financial burden, from gas prices to other travel costs.

Coffee also sees "almost never-ending lawsuits" coming as a result of Friday's landmark opinion. She said the legal battles will likely go on for years, similar to the legal challenges after the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Coffee emphasized the broad impact the ruling will have, not just on the people entrenched in the political debate.

"It's a very important thing," Coffee said. "It probably involves more people than you think, at first, not just radicals on either side."

Before You Leave, Check This Out