Public Health Heroes Awards Ceremony

Sarah Weddington for her work affecting the well-being of women through her roles as attorney, legislator, presidential adviser, and professor.

A nationally known defender of women’s rights, Sarah Weddington, J.D., is particularly recognized for her work on issues affecting the well-being of women through her many roles as attorney, legislator, presidential adviser, and professor.

In 1972, at age 26, she successfully argued the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which ensures a woman’s right to a legal abortion. That same year she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served three terms before becoming the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s general counsel in 1977. From 1978 to 1981, Weddington served as assistant to President Jimmy Carter, for whom she directed White House efforts to extend the time for ratification of the ERA and assisted in the selection of women for federal judiciary appointments.

Weddington teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, is the author of A Question of Choic, and is currently working on a book about women and leadership.

AWARD PRESENTERChristopher Edley, Jr, J.D., M.P.P.

Christopher Edley, Jr, J.D., M.P.P., joined Boalt Hall as dean in 2004 after 23 years on the law faculty at Harvard University, where he co-founded the Civil Rights Project, a renowned multidisciplinary research and policy think tank focused on issues of racial justice. A veteran of national politics, Edley was Carter’s assistant director of White House domestic policy staff; national issues director for the 1988 Dukakis presidential campaign; and senior adviser on economic policy for Clinton’s transition team in 1992. He later became Clinton’s associate director for economics and government at the White House Office of Management and Budget and special counsel to the president, directing a White House review of affirmative action. He is currently serving a six-year term on the bipartisan U.S. Civil Rights Commission and is a member of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform.

THE CHALLENGESafeguarding Women's Reproductive Health

Times have changed in the decades since Roe v. Wade. Women, made desperate by the financial, educational, employment, and health ramifications of an unwanted pregnancy, no longer have to risk their lives undergoing illegal abortion procedures performed in unhygienic conditions by unskilled practitioners.

Nevertheless these advances cannot be taken for granted. Personal freedoms, if not protected, are subject to fluctuations in the nation’s political climate. In 2004 alone, state legislatures considered 714 anti-choice measures (28 percent more than in 2003). Should Roe v. Wade be reversed, the National Abortion Rights Action League estimates that 19 states would quickly outlaw abortion, while another 19 would likely follow suit. The criminalization of abortion would drive the practice underground.

Compared with maternal death rates prior to Roe v. Wade, legal abortion carried out under modern aseptic conditions rarely results in maternal death (0.6 deaths per 100,000 procedures in the U.S. according to the American Medical Association). The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide between 13 and 20 percent of all maternal deaths are attributable to complications of an unsafe abortion.

THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONDS

Several School of Public Health research centers and programs are working on issues of reproductive health and freedoms in developing countries, where many of the battles for family planning resources and protection against sexually transmitted disease are still being fought.

The Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development focuses on the need for high quality medicines and basic health services at affordable prices, with a special emphasis on family planning. Center faculty work with local entrepreneurs in developing countries, devising strategies for distributing patented drug products at modest prices; facilitating regulatory drug approvals between manufacturing and market nations; translating oral contraceptive instructions into Afghan languages; and studying the relationship between abortion laws and total fertility rates in 170 countries.

The Bixby Program in Population, Family Planning, and Maternal Health is involved in population growth and its effects on women’s health, economic development, environmental sustainability, and peace. The center sponsors an annual international health conference, which this year will focus on obstacles in delivering reproductive health care for the poor.

The Bay Area International Group draws on the interdisciplinary skills of economists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, and experts in international business and AIDS prevention to evaluate and assess the cost effectiveness of reproductive health programs in developing countries.

In addition, Maternal and Child Health program faculty have consulted internationally and conducted research on a variety of reproductive health topics, including community-based contraception distribution; breastfeeding and fertility; high miscarriage rates among women working in the semi-conductor industry; protection against HIV infection through vaginal use of spermicide-like products; mother-to-child HIV transmission; and the biological basis of human reproductive behavior.


2005 National Hero - Sarah Weddington		Related Links The Weddington Center
Sarah Weddington for her work affecting the well-being of women through her roles as attorney, legislator, presidential adviser, and professor. A nationally known defender of women’s rights, Sarah Weddington, J.D., is particularly recognized for her work on issues affecting the well-being of women through her many roles as attorney, legislator, presidential adviser, and professor. In 1972, at age 26, she successfully argued the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which ensures a woman’s right to a legal abortion. That same year she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served three terms before becoming the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s general counsel in 1977. From 1978 to 1981, Weddington served as assistant to President Jimmy Carter, for whom she directed White House efforts to extend the time for ratification of the ERA and assisted in the selection of women for federal judiciary appointments. Weddington teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, is the author of A Question of Choic, and is currently working on a book about women and leadership. AWARD PRESENTERChristopher Edley, Jr, J.D., M.P.P. Christopher Edley, Jr, J.D., M.P.P., joined Boalt Hall as dean in 2004 after 23 years on the law faculty at Harvard University, where he co-founded the Civil Rights Project, a renowned multidisciplinary research and policy think tank focused on issues of racial justice. A veteran of national politics, Edley was Carter’s assistant director of White House domestic policy staff; national issues director for the 1988 Dukakis presidential campaign; and senior adviser on economic policy for Clinton’s transition team in 1992. He later became Clinton’s associate director for economics and government at the White House Office of Management and Budget and special counsel to the president, directing a White House review of affirmative action. He is currently serving a six-year term on the bipartisan U.S. Civil Rights Commission and is a member of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform. THE CHALLENGESafeguarding Women's Reproductive Health Times have changed in the decades since Roe v. Wade. Women, made desperate by the financial, educational, employment, and health ramifications of an unwanted pregnancy, no longer have to risk their lives undergoing illegal abortion procedures performed in unhygienic conditions by unskilled practitioners. Nevertheless these advances cannot be taken for granted. Personal freedoms, if not protected, are subject to fluctuations in the nation’s political climate. In 2004 alone, state legislatures considered 714 anti-choice measures (28 percent more than in 2003). Should Roe v. Wade be reversed, the National Abortion Rights Action League estimates that 19 states would quickly outlaw abortion, while another 19 would likely follow suit. The criminalization of abortion would drive the practice underground. Compared with maternal death rates prior to Roe v. Wade, legal abortion carried out under modern aseptic conditions rarely results in maternal death (0.6 deaths per 100,000 procedures in the U.S. according to the American Medical Association). The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide between 13 and 20 percent of all maternal deaths are attributable to complications of an unsafe abortion. THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONDS Several School of Public Health research centers and programs are working on issues of reproductive health and freedoms in developing countries, where many of the battles for family planning resources and protection against sexually transmitted disease are still being fought. The Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development focuses on the need for high quality medicines and basic health services at affordable prices, with a special emphasis on family planning. Center faculty work with local entrepreneurs in developing countries, devising strategies for distributing patented drug products at modest prices; facilitating regulatory drug approvals between manufacturing and market nations; translating oral contraceptive instructions into Afghan languages; and studying the relationship between abortion laws and total fertility rates in 170 countries. The Bixby Program in Population, Family Planning, and Maternal Health is involved in population growth and its effects on women’s health, economic development, environmental sustainability, and peace. The center sponsors an annual international health conference, which this year will focus on obstacles in delivering reproductive health care for the poor. The Bay Area International Group draws on the interdisciplinary skills of economists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, and experts in international business and AIDS prevention to evaluate and assess the cost effectiveness of reproductive health programs in developing countries. In addition, Maternal and Child Health program faculty have consulted internationally and conducted research on a variety of reproductive health topics, including community-based contraception distribution; breastfeeding and fertility; high miscarriage rates among women working in the semi-conductor industry; protection against HIV infection through vaginal use of spermicide-like products; mother-to-child HIV transmission; and the biological basis of human reproductive behavior.