Margie Pitts Hames (December 8, 1933 – July 19, 1994) was an

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

civil rights lawyer who argued the

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

case ''

Doe v. Bolton ''Doe v. Bolton'', 410 U.S. 179 (1973), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning the abortion law of Georgia. The Supreme Court's decision was released on January 22, 1973, the same day as the decision in the better-kno ...

'' before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Biography

Hames was born in

Milton, Tennessee Milton is an unincorporated community in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Its ZIP Code is 37118. The community is concentrated in the northeast corner of the county along State Route 96 (Lascassas Pike) between Auburntown and Murfr ...

, to a poor rural family. As a schoolgirl, Hames encountered a schoolteacher who stated that the only acceptable time for an abortion was "when a black man raped a white woman." In 1951, Hames graduated from Kittrell High School in

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

. While working as a

legal secretary A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession. Background In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is a person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secretar ...

, Hames began studying law at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together off ...

. She later transferred to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where she earned bachelor's and law degrees in 1961. In 1962, Hames entered law practice in Atlanta with the law firm of Fisher & Phillips, specializing in labor-management relations. In 1969, after the birth of her two children, Hames started volunteer work for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

had funded this project with the goal of preventing confrontations between civil rights demonstrators and law enforcement. In 1970. the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society hired Hames to contest a 1968 abortion law in Georgia. The plaintiff "Doe" was Sandra Bensing Cano, a pregnant woman who had been unable to get a legal abortion. The defendant was the Georgia attorney general, Arthur Bolton. Sandra Cano was attempting to gain a divorce and custody of her previous two children at the time she sought legal representation. Cano held pro-life views, and claimed that Hames had manipulated her. Hames was the main lawyer in ''Doe vs Bolton'' when it came before the US Supreme Court along with '' Roe vs. Wade''. On January 22, 1973, the court overturned the Georgia law. In 1971, Hames opened her own law firm. She would eventually serve as legal counsel for the Atlanta Surgi Center, the Hillcrest Clinic, the Summit Medical Center, Midtown Hospital, and the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Health. She also handled

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

claims regarding

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

employment discrimination Employment discrimination is a form of illegal discrimination in the workplace based on legally protected characteristics. In the U.S., federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination by employers against employees based on age, race, g ...

welfare rights Welfare rights means the rights of people to be aware of and receive their maximum entitlement to state welfare benefits, and to be treated reasonably well by the welfare system. It has been established in the United Kingdom since 1969 and has als ...

and education cases. In 1982, she ran unsuccessfully for the Georgia Supreme Court. In 1994, Hames died at age 60 at

Piedmont Hospital Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is a 643 bed, non-profit hospital located at 1968 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia. History Piedmont was established in 1905 as the Piedmont Sanitarium, the successor to Amster's private sanitorium, in the former mansi ...

in Atlanta after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while driving. She is buried in Milton Cemetery in Milton, Tennessee.

Posthumous

In 2006, as part of a court challenge, Cano (died September 30, 2014) claimed that Hames lied to her and pressured her into participating in ''Doe v. Bolton''. Before her death, Hames had rejected this coercion claim. The

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

rejected Cano's challenge.Mears, Bill
"Court won't rethink 'Mary Doe' abortion case"
''CNN'' (2006-10-10).

References

External links

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hames, Margie 20th-century American lawyers Abortion in the United States 1933 births 1994 deaths People from Rutherford County, Tennessee