In Roe v. Wade, the Court balanced the right to privacy against the government's interests in protecting women's health and what other factor?

• A. National security
• B. Potentiality of human life
• C. Public safety
• D. Religious liberty

Answer: (B)

The question tests how the Court weighs privacy rights against state interests in abortion policy. In Roe v. Wade, the Court recognized a constitutional right to privacy, but it also held that the state has important interests to protect, specifically in safeguarding a woman's health and in protecting the potential life of the fetus. The other factor the Court highlighted is the potentiality of human life—the idea that a fetus has the future potential to become a person, which gives the state a compelling interest as pregnancy progresses. This balancing helps explain why the Court allowed more abortion freedom early on and permitted greater regulation later, tied to fetal viability. National security, public safety, and religious liberty were not the factors used in this balancing.