While the Roe v. Wade case reflected the politically charged atmosphere of the women's movement in the 1970s, it was in no way a calculated effort on the part of a national organization. Had it been, it is unlikely that Sarah Weddington, just out of law school and never having argued in a court of law, would have been chosen to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some people are driven from their very beginnings to be agents of change. They seem from birth to boldly assert their right to leadership and assume the center of attention. As in all significant social movements, there have been many larger-than-life figures in the feminist movement, activists whose personalities seemed at times to overshadow their politics on the way to making history. But there have also been others who did not seem to consciously set out to turn the tide. Yet somehow, a series of experiences, circumstances, and coincidences can combine to propel an otherwise traditional person into the radical political arena. For some, this political actualization may be short-lived. For others, like Sarah Weddington, it can lead to a lifelong political commitment.
As a twenty-five-year-old, inexperienced attorney, Weddington successfully argued the 1973 milestone case Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court, and she continues twenty-five years later to devote her life to women's reproductive freedom. Her early life, however, was hardly an indicator of the impact she would have on the lives of generations of American women. Personal circumstances and public events caused her to become one of the most significant change agents for women in this century.
Publication information: Book title: Significant Contemporary American Feminists:A Biographical Sourcebook. Contributors: Jennifer Scanlon - Editor. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of publication: Westport, CT. Publication year: 1999. Page number: 317.