Last month, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a Kentucky law requiring doctors to describe ultrasound images and play fetal heartbeat sounds to people seeking abortions. The state argued that these images and sounds best "inform a patient of the nature and consequences of an abortion." In 2007, Justice Anthony Kennedy based his decision to ban an abortion procedure on the grounds that "while we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice" to have an abortion.
The specter of "abortion regret" has been used by lawmakers and judges alike to impose or uphold rules making it harder for people to get abortions. In Kansas, doctors must tell their patients that life begins at conception and the fetus is a separate living being — neither of which is supported by medical research. Women in Kentucky who want an abortion now must undergo an ultrasound and hear a description of their fetus. And in states like Missouri or North Carolina, women must have at least two appointments with a waiting period in between before an abortion, to give them time to reconsider their choice. This means they must make an appointment, get time off work, arrange child care, and drive, sometimes for hours, to the clinic. Then they must do it all again days later.
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