The U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in this country, Roe v. Wade is the pivotal reproductive rights case of the last century and a precious victory for women’s equality under the law. For me, though, Roe is more than legal precedent. It is a testament to the power young women can harness.

In 1972, the year the Supreme Court heard arguments in Roe v. Wade, many states still criminalized abortion. Indeed, legal access to birth control was new — it had been less than a decade since the Supreme Court overturned Connecticut’s law banning the use of contraception. You might reasonably assume that Jane Roe and her advocates would have chosen a well-known, experienced lawyer with multiple Supreme Court arguments under his — and yes, probably a “his” — belt. You’d be wrong.

Attorney Sarah Weddington was 26 years old when she appeared before the Supreme Court to argue on Jane Roe’s behalf. She was a freshly minted lawyer without significant legal experience. At the time, few women attorneys were practicing at all, much less practicing before the nation’s highest court. Weddington’s age made her the youngest Supreme Court advocate in history. The fact that she argued — and won — the groundbreaking Roe v. Wade case is just the climax of an already extraordinary story.