Linda Coffee

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Linda Nellene Coffee (b. 1942) is an attorney living in Dallas, Texas. Ms. 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 abortion was made legal.

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. However, the State Bar of Texas advises she is currently not eligible to practice in Texas.

Coffee was a frequent speaker on women's rights in Dallas; McCorvey approached her and asked for representation to challenge the federal prohibition of abortion.

"Roe", whose real name is Norma McCorvey, now claims 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 a federal ban on abortion and won, thus leading to the federal legalization of abortion.