DALLAS — A historic archive from the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade will be auctioned Friday in California.
The collection belongs to Dallas attorney Linda Coffee, who filed the lawsuit in Texas that eventually gave women the constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years.
Included in the archive are dozens of letters and documents, including the original affidavit signed by Norma McCorvey, known as “Jane Roe,” and a letter from Coffee to her co-counsel, Sarah Weddington.
Bidding begins at $50,000.
Nate D. Sanders Auctions, which is selling the collection, called this “one of the most significant archives in U.S. legal history given the profound impact of Roe v. Wade.”
Coffee, now 80, is retired and lives east of Dallas in Mineola with her partner of 40 years, Rebecca Hartt. Last year, she lamented the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“I’m surprised that we’re still having the same arguments come on so many times,” Coffee said, urging those fighting the legal battles to carry on.
Friday’s auction coincides with the 53rd anniversary of when Coffee filed suit on March 3, 1970 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She paid a $15 filing fee. That receipt is included in the archive.
Another standout in the collection is the letter Coffee wrote to Waddington, who died in 2021 at the age of 76.
“Would you consider being co-counsel in the event that a suit is actually filed. I have always found that it is a great deal more fun to work with someone on a law suit of this nature... I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon...’’ Coffee wrote in the letter, dated Dec. 4, 1969.
The archive also includes Coffee’s law license she received just two years before filing Roe, two quill pens given to her by the Supreme Court and a photograph of Coffee and Waddington together.
Asked in 2021 whether she considered herself a historical figure, Coffee replied, “I don’t think so.”
