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Anne Hill's Risky Illegal Abortion Experience
- Anne Hill discovered she was pregnant during her first semester at Yale Law in 1968 and sought an abortion in Connecticut where it was illegal.
- She traveled to Dr. Nathan Rapport in New York, paid $500, was unconscious during a dangerous procedure, and later learned another woman had died under his care.
Two Thousand Women Joined As Plaintiffs
- Women Versus Connecticut recruited broadly and used a class-action approach allowing any woman to join, gathering about 2,000 named plaintiffs.
- Anne's group typed an alphabetical list on an electric typewriter that filled about a hundred pages and kept amending it as more women signed up.
Borrow Legal Strategies From Other State Cases
- Use strategic legal models from other states when challenging entrenched laws to amplify impact.
- Anne copied the class-action recruitment idea from nationwide cases and enlisted experienced lawyers like Nancy Stearns to guide Connecticut litigation.