Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Southern California Law Review
Publication Date
2008
ISSN
0038-3910
Page Number
877
Keywords
abortion, privacy, regret, psychology, impact bias, behavioral law and economics
Disciplines
Constitutional Law | Law | Privacy Law
Abstract
In "Gonzales v. Carhart", the Supreme Court upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. In so doing, the Court used the prospect of regret to justify limiting choice. Relying on empirical evidence documenting the four ways in which regret actually operates, this Article argues that the Court's analysis reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the psychology of regret. By exposing the Court's misunderstanding of this emotion, this article seeks to minimize the most significant risk posed by the Carhart decision: that states will use the prospect of regret to justify additional constraints not only on the abortion right but also on other rights protected by the Constitution.
Recommended Citation
Chris Guthrie,
"Carhart", Constitutional Rights, and the Psychology of Regret, 81 Southern California Law Review. 877
(2008)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/820