Why did Antonin Scalia want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade?

Antonin Scalia’s desire to overturn Roe v. Wade was rooted in his commitment to originalism and his opposition to judicial activism.1

Scalia believed that judges should not usurp the power of elected legislatures by creating law based on personal preferences or by recognizing rights not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Because he was generally unwilling to recognize such "unenumerated rights," he argued that issues not clearly addressed by the Constitution—such as abortion—should be left to democratic deliberation or the process of constitutional amendment rather than being decided by the judiciary.1

Consequently, Scalia viewed the Supreme Court's establishment of a constitutional right to abortion as an improper exercise of judicial power that removed a significant policy matter from the hands of voters and their representatives. Throughout his tenure, he remained a vocal critic of the court's failure to overturn the precedent set in Roe v. Wade, frequently admonishing his colleagues for their refusal to do so.12