Where Is Shirley Wheeler Today?

Sherri Chessen’s name appears in nearly every book about the evolution of abortion in America.

Even though she didn’t use her husband’s surname, Sherri Finkbine was frequently referred to as Sherri Finkbine when she appeared on Romper Room in the early 1960s.

She was a native of Arizona and the mother of four children.

When she became pregnant with her fifth child, she was having trouble sleeping, so she took a sleeping pill that her husband had purchased over the counter while in England.

Shirley had an unconstitutional abortion in 1970.

She was among the first women to be arrested for doing so.

Her legal issues dragged on for two years, full of unexpected twists and turns.

Her experience demonstrated the potential cost to women when a commonly required surgery was illegal.

Shirley Wheeler’s story was not as compelling as Sherri Chessen’s.

Shirley, unlike Sherri, was not married to the man she was dating at the time she became pregnant.

Shirley had a child as a result of rape, and she refused to raise him.

Shirley was certain she didn’t want a second child because she didn’t want to bring another child into the world or be a mother.

Her arrest was not even for her first illegal abortion; it was her second.

Shirley herself became an inspiration to a fledgling movement in 1971.

She was an unlikely candidate for the position.

It was her first political event when she took the stage to speak to a crowd of women in the fall of 1971.

Her story, on the other hand, gave specifics to a movement in desperate need of a hero, and women flocked to her.

Where Is Shirley Wheeler Today?

Shirley Wheeler, 85, of Dousman, died on Friday, March 29, 2019, at her home, surrounded by her family.

Shirley’s children, Wanda (Mark) Wakeley, Sharlene Sharif, and Charles (Karen) Walker, as well as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, survive her.

Shirley’s brothers, Harvey and Albert Meuller, as well as nieces, nephews, cousins, and other family and friends, survive her.