Retired Justice Blackmun Dies at Age 90

By Joan Biskupic, Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, March 4, 1999

Special for the Web Edition:

"Retired Justice Harry A. Blackmun, the author of Roe v. Wade, the decision that made abortion legal, radically transformed American society and changed politics forever, died Thursday at age 90 of complications following hip replacement surgery.

An enigmatic figure who could be both reserved and puckish, and who loaded his writing with emotion, Blackmun sat on the high court from 1970 until 1994 and penned hundreds of opinions. During that unusually long tenure he influenced all walks of life, but particularly enhanced women's rights, enlarged constitutional protection for commercial speech and championed a high wall of separation between church and state."

(©Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company)

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