Lawyer Defending Roe Bets on Precedent to Save Abortion Rights

To prepare for the most consequential abortion case the U.S. has seen in 30 years, Julie Rikelman began keeping two large white binders in her office, each about 3 ½ inches thick, stuffed with court papers. The veteran litigator has spent much of the fall poring over those binders, mastering the case law, and narrowing her focus to the most relevant documents. Now, a few days before she’s set to appear in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, she’s down to a single binder, 2 inches thick.

Her mastery of that material could shape the future of abortion rights in the U.S. On Dec. 1, Rikelman will argue a case that will determine the fate of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling establishing a constitutional right to an abortion. “I try not to be a ball of anxiety, but it’s definitely stressful,” says Rikelman, 49, from her home in Brookline, Mass. “I will do everything I humanly can.”