Virginia Whitehill

Background

Her mother, Myrtle Bales Bulkley, marched for women"s suffrage as a young woman and remained a vocal supporter of women"s rights until her death in 1990.

Career

Wade court case that confirmed the legality of abortion. A native of New York, Virginia Whitehill graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1950 with a bachelor"s degree in history. She is the mother of two daughters and is a grandmother.

On January 13, 1970 Whitehill spoke at a meeting of the Women"s Alliance of Dallas" First Unitarian Church.

In an interview in 2005, Whitehill said "There"s nothing more important to a woman than controlling her own fertility. The vote and birth control are the cornerstones of the emancipation of women.".

Achievements

• At the meeting she argued that recent cases on abortion that had gone before the United States Supreme Court suggested that legislative change in the field would be easier to accomplish through the medium of the courts.