Linda Coffee
Encyclopedia
Linda Nellene Coffee is an attorney living in Dallas, Texas
. Coffee is best known for representing (along with her friend and co-counsel Sarah Weddington
) Norma McCorvey
(a.k.a. Jane Roe), a pregnant woman who desired an abortion
, in the precedent-setting United States Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade
, in which many laws restricting abortion access were invalidated.
Coffee obtained her Bachelor of Laws
degree in February 1968, from the University of Texas, and was licensed to practice in Texas in May of that year.
Coffee was a frequent speaker on women's rights in Dallas; McCorvey approached her and asked for representation to challenge laws limiting access to abortion.
"Roe", whose real name is Norma McCorvey, now states she became the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers (Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee) who were looking for a plaintiff whom they could use to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.
Coffee was a member of the Women's Equity Action League, an organization working toward equal employment opportunities for women. She and Weddington agreed to take the case; as the petitioners, they challenged abortion law and won, thus invalidating several laws limiting access to abortions.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Coffee is best known for representing (along with her friend and co-counsel Sarah Weddington
Sarah Weddington
Sarah Ragle Weddington is an American attorney and lecturer from Texas who gained worldwide fame when she and Linda Coffee represented "Jane Roe" in the landmark Roe v. Wade case in the United States Supreme Court.-Family and education:She is the daughter of Lena Catherine and Rev...
) Norma McCorvey
Norma McCorvey
Norma Leah McCorvey , better known by the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe", was the plaintiff in the landmark American lawsuit Roe v. Wade in 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned individual states' laws against abortion by ruling them unconstitutional...
(a.k.a. Jane Roe), a pregnant woman who desired an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, in the precedent-setting United States Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
, in which many laws restricting abortion access were invalidated.
Coffee obtained her Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree in February 1968, from the University of Texas, and was licensed to practice in Texas in May of that year.
Coffee was a frequent speaker on women's rights in Dallas; McCorvey approached her and asked for representation to challenge laws limiting access to abortion.
"Roe", whose real name is Norma McCorvey, now states she became the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers (Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee) who were looking for a plaintiff whom they could use to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.
Coffee was a member of the Women's Equity Action League, an organization working toward equal employment opportunities for women. She and Weddington agreed to take the case; as the petitioners, they challenged abortion law and won, thus invalidating several laws limiting access to abortions.