Bioethicist explains ‘fetal viability,’ a key part of Roe v. Wade

A bioethicist weighs in on the leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision that would strike down Roe v. Wade.

By Claire Hyman
abortion advocates
Abortion rights advocates demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Washington, as the court hears arguments in a case from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press
abortion advocates
Abortion rights advocates demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Washington, as the court hears arguments in a case from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press

Bioethicist explains ‘fetal viability,’ a key part of Roe v. Wade

A bioethicist weighs in on the leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision that would strike down Roe v. Wade.

By Claire Hyman
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Fetal viability is the point at which a fetus can survive outside of the womb.

Reset checks in with a bioethicist about this key component of Roe v. Wade and how anti-abortion activists gained steam over the past few decades.

GUESTS: Katie Watson, bioethicist at Northwestern University; author of Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Ordinary Abortion