Question

The controversial Roe v. Wade decision has incited bitter debates and even violence over the past fifty years. One major reason why Roe v. Wade was and remains tendentious is because the decision required SCOTUS to determine when personhood begins, which has major legal, medical, moral, and philosophical ramifications. SCOTUS determined that viability begins at twenty-three weeks in the womb. Why did so many Americans disagree with this?

a) They believed that personhood begins at conception.
b) They thought viability begins later than twenty-three weeks.
c) They believed SCOTUS had no authority to make such decisions.
d) They thought viability should be determined by individual states.

Answer 1

Americans disagreed with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision because it conflicted with the belief that personhood begins at conception, a view often grounded in moral convictions. Some also believed the Court overstepped its authority, preferring such decisions to be made by states or individuals.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Roe v. Wade decision sparked a considerable amount of dissent because it touched on deeply held beliefs about when life and thus personhood begins. Some Americans disagreed with the Supreme Court's determination because they believed that personhood begins at conception, rather than at the point of fetal viability.

Others may have disagreed for different reasons as well. Some people thought that the Supreme Court had overstepped its authority by making a decision that, in their view, should be left to the states or to the individual. They believe that such personal and complex decisions should not be federally mandated but should rather be determined by more local governance, reflecting the values and beliefs of individual communities.