By Lauren Robbins, Intern for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

This past Halloween I saw a woman on the street carrying what looked like an oversized paddle and rowing her way down 14th Street, sans boat and, for that matter, water. She wore bright pink rain boots and a little black dress. I could see a toy doll’s glassy eyes staring out at me from over the edge of her purse. It took me a second but then it came to me:  she was Roe v. Wade. At first I laughed at the cleverness of the concept. After all, I like a pun as much as the next girl. But something about the woman’s costume struck an off-chord with me. 

The case name Roe v. Wade is so familiar today that it seems to have almost eclipsed the briefs, the oral arguments, and in some ways, even the Supreme Court opinion itself. It has taken on a life of its own.  Say it out loud:  Roe v. Wade. It’s almost one word. I sometimes wonder whether, as part of our national lexicon, it has become more a symbol of a movement than what it started out as: a suit brought by a pregnant woman in Texas who believed that her state’s criminal abortion statutes violated the U.S. Constitution. 

I celebrate Roe today and every day for how it changed - and continues to change – lives. I also celebrate the decision on the broader level for what it has done for women’s equality and our system of justice. For better or for worse, the case has become a symbol of reproductive freedom. Thirty-seven years might have had its wear and tear on the much-debated decision, but it is still standing. This feat deserves all the pro-choice pins, stickers, and posters in the world. 

Yet Roe v. Wade, the Halloween costume, makes me cringe. Maybe it’s because these names, Jane Roe and Henry Wade, were never about boating. No one wore galoshes. Maybe it’s because of the seeming irreverence of that outfit. Maybe it’s because of that baby doll thrown into the purse as the kicker to the whole play on words. Or maybe it’s because this important decision is so more than a title, especially to those of us who are so committed to what this case did for women’s constitutional rights. I’m not sure if I have any one reason. But I do know that today, as I celebrate Roe’s anniversary, I’m going to be sure to pronounce the whole case as three words - not one. It deserves that respect.

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