The lawyer who made abortion legal is worried about reproductive rights

Sarah Weddington, the attorney who successfully argued for a women's right to choose in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, is now worried about reproductive rights under President Donald Trump.

"I think everyone who cares about the Roe v. Wade issue and other reproductive rights is very concerned about what will happen," Weddington, 71, told NBC News. 

Weddington also believes there are now far fewer pro-choice Republican lawmakers who will speak out than when she was fighting for the cause. 

"There were a lot of Republicans for choice, a number of Republican members of the state legislatures and Congress who were pro-choice," Weddington, who went on to become a Texas legislator, said. "[Republican] President Ford and Mrs. Ford were both pro-choice. You had a considerable number of Republicans who were pro-choice. I can't name those Republicans today."

During the 2016 presidential election, then-candidate Trump said there should be "some form of punishment" for women who get abortions (though he quickly walked that statement back). During one of the final debates against opponent Hillary Clinton, Trump also said Roe v. Wade would be "overturned" under his presidency and gave a grossly inaccurate description of late-term abortion. 

Though many experts agree it is unlikely Roe v. Wade would be repealed under President Trump, the president's campaign promises as well as his choice of vice president, Mike Pence, do little to soothe the fears of those worried about reproductive health.

"There's no immediate threat to Roe v. Wade, even with a single Trump appointment to the court, but in the long run, with the possibility of a second or third Trump appointment, there is a substantial threat to the core of Roe v. Wade," Mark Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor, told NBC News.