Benshoof led the fight to preserve Roe v Wade in the United States for nearly three decades, and then became a prominent human rights advocate who fought for abortion access and gender equality across the globe. She was the leading reproductive rights lawyer of her generation.

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            Benshoof ran the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project (RFP) for 15 years beginning shortly after the 1973 decision in Roe. Her successes beating back the anti-abortion backlash to Roe, together with her prodigious fundraising, made the RFP the largest and most successful ACLU unit by the end of the 1980s. Then, in 1992, restless for new challenges, she left the ACLU with her entire staff and caseload to establish the Center for Reproductive Rights, which instantly became, and remains today, the leading reproductive rights advocacy organization in the country. After running the Center for a decade, Benshoof took up international human rights law to pursue a broader agenda of equality and justice for women in Burma, Iraq and other repressive societies, and in 2005 she founded another pathbreaking organization to carry on that work, the Global Justice Center.

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            From being a bookish misfit in a small midwestern town, Benshoof traveled through Harvard Law School to New York City, where she wound up at the center of the most controversial legal issue of the 20th century. She grew into a tough, passionate advocate, who shared an uncompromising view of women’s rights with her lifelong friend and colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A self-described introvert who suffered depression throughout her life, Benshoof portrayed to the world unlimited confidence and charm. Her achievements were both personal and professional.