Which amendment's due process clause is central to Roe v. Wade's abortion ruling?

• A. First Amendment
• B. Second Amendment
• C. Fourth Amendment
• D. Fourteenth Amendment

Answer: (D)

The key idea here is that Roe v. Wade rests on the right to privacy protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause says states cannot deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and over time the Supreme Court has held that certain fundamental liberties are protected from state infringement through this clause. In Roe, the court interpreted that liberty to include a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, at least in early pregnancy, balancing that private decision against state interests. The decision relies on substantive due process—the notion that certain rights are so fundamental that state laws restricting them must meet rigorous scrutiny.

The other amendments listed don’t provide the same privacy-based protection in this context. They address other areas—speech and religion (First), bearing arms (Second), and search/seizure protections (Fourth)—without establishing the privacy liberty used to justify abortion rights in Roe.