Five stories that have North Texas talking: Week in review of Roe v. Wade's 40th, a plan for President Kennedy's unspoken words, Tom Hicks' water drain of an estate and more.
The Roe v. Wade 40th anniversary week concludes today with an expected 400,000 anti-abortion activists rallying in D.C. As we look back to the case that became a lightning rod in the public struggle over abortion, we see two young women -- and Texas -- at the heart of the storm.
In 1970, 26-year-old lawyer Sarah Weddington argued against Texas' anti-abortion statute in the Supreme Court. Her client, Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe), got pregnant at 21 when she was living in Dallas. The two women were met with this line from the lawyer representing Texas:
“It’s an old joke, but when a man argues against two beautiful ladies like this, they are going to have the last word.” [The Economist]
The statute was overturned, of course, but the polarizing social issue of abortion and the movements it spawned continue to reach far past the highest court.
Where are we 40 years later? Slate asks whether the pro-life movement has produced more single moms in America.Conversely, Jane Roe herself is showing up in political ads for the pro-life cause. Vanity Fair has a recent profile of McCorvey, who asked voters not to choose President Obama for a second term because "he murders babies."
- President John F. Kennedy was supposed to give a speech at the Dallas Trade Mart on the day he was assassinated. That speech -- all 2,549 words of it -- could be finally delivered publicly by the citizens of Dallas, through movement, song, and projected text. Art&Seek's Jerome Weeks reports on two Brits and their hopes to make a documentary as part of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death in November. [Art&Seek]
- Dallas businessman Tom Hicks' house is for sale. Living on 25 acres in a home that once hosted Jimmy Stewart and Ronald Reagan has its downsides: Hicks used more than 12 million gallons of water on landscaping in 2011. That's up from 2008, when he used 10 million -- 100 times that of an average Dallasite, according to this report from KERA's "Thirsty" series.
- A man was arrested in Plano for running an underground dental practice for patients without insurance. Other thing is, Santiago Delao didn't have a license. The Board of Dental Examiners says this kind of operation is becoming a trend. [CBSDFW]
- The second suspect in the Houston-area Lone Star Community College shooting has been arrested in Plano. Police found Trey Foster, 22, at a house in the city at 1 a.m. today. [NBCDFW]
