Two of the most prominent women in politics will face-off Wednesday on abortion.

Phyllis Schlafly led the opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment and Sarah Weddington defended Jane Roe in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision “Roe vs. Wade,” legalizing abortion.

Schlafly and Weddington have met “several” times before, but this year, Schlafly won two of the last three debates against Weddington, Schlafly said.

Both will meet again at 7:30 p.m. in the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom. The speakers will split an $8,000 honorarium for the appearance.

The debate is “very likely to draw a big crowd,” Schlafly said.

Schlafly is a spokesperson on American conservatism and debates frequently on legal, economic and social issues. “I was the leader of the movement which prevented the Equal Rights Ammendment,” she said.

Schlafly is a lawyer, heads her own conservative Eagle Forum and writes a nationally syndicated column.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Louis’s Washington University in 1944, a master’s from Harvard and a law degree from Niagara University, New York, in 1976.

Weddington is known for arguing the winning side of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade court case.

Weddington practices law and is a history and government lecturer at the University of Texas, Austin and at Texas Women’s University, Denton.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from McMurry College in Texas and at age 19 was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Texas Law School.

Weddington was not available for comment by Monday’s deadline.

Nolen Henderson, Campus Activities Board Speaker Committee member, said the debate “will make students aware of what is really going on in abortion issues.”

The debate is free, open to the public and sponsored by CAB and the NIU College of Law. Weddington will also visit the law school while at NIU.