Weddington, Sarah Ragle, 1945-

<p>Sarah Ragle Weddington was born on February 5, 1945 in Abilene, Texas. She received a B.S. from McMurry College in Abilene in 1965 and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1967. She practiced law in Austin, Texas from 1967 to 1977, and in 1970 and 1971 she was assistant city attorney in Ft. Worth, Texas. </p>
<p>In October 1978 she became Special Assistant (Assistant after September 1979) to the President for Women's Affairs. Her work included two general functions. The first was to be the President's advisor on women's issues and to organize administration resources to enhance equality for women in American life. Weddington's second function was to serve as a liaison to leaders throughout the country to provide information, primarily through White House briefing sessions, about the work and focus of the Carter administration. In January 1981 she returned to Austin to practice law. From 1983 to 1985 she was the director of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations in Washington, D.C. She has also held a variety of teaching positions since the early 1980s: visiting professor of government at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, 1981 to 1983; senior lecturer at Texas Women's University, 1981 to 1990, and 1993; Carl Hatch professor of law and public administration at the University of New Mexico, 1982 to 1983; and adjunct associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin since 1986. In 1992 she wrote a book about her experience with the court case Roe v. Wade, entitled A Question of Choice.</p>

In 1973, she became the first woman from Austin to serve in the 150-member Texas House of Representatives, serving for three terms. In 1977, she was the first woman ever to serve as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Weddington was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin for 28 years, where she shaped a new generation of leaders through her classes "Gender-Based Discrimination" and "Leadership in America."

She now runs the Weddington Center, Austin, whose work focuses on women and leadership.

In 1973, shortly after completing law school, Weddington worked pro bono to represent a group of women who had established an abortion referral program at the University of Texas. Through this association, she successfully argued the landmark case Roe v. Wade, and in doing so, became the youngest person to win a case before the Supreme Court. Also in 1973, Weddington began her political career by becoming the first woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives. She continued to serve in this position for three terms.
In 1977, she became the first woman to hold the position of General Counsel of the US Department of Agriculture, and was the first female Director of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations from 1983 until 1985.
Weddington worked with the community to establish women's equal rights by helping to establish the Foundation for Women's Resources. This organization sponsored activities such as the Leadership Texas and Leadership America programs and created the Women's Museum that opened in Dallas in September 2000. Because of her extensive work in politics and community service, especially through women's advocacy, Weddington has received numerous awards and honors. For example, in 1999 she was named Texas Woman of the Century by the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas and in 1998 was given the Leadership America's Hummingbird Award for contributions toward the advancement of women's leadership. Also, the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders awarded Weddington the Woman of Distinction Award (1993), and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America gave her the Margaret Sanger Award, the highest award of the organization. She was named one of Esquire Magazine's top ten "Outstanding Women in America" and was given the Ladies' Home Journal Woman of the Future Award. Weddington also holds honorary doctorates from McMurry University, Hamilton College, Austin College, Southwestern University, and Nova Southeastern University.