Decision Vacuums in the Provision of Abortion Care: Implications for Psychology and Policy

Abstract

In 1973, Roe v. Wade established the federal right to terminate one's own pregnancy, and also established a triad: the woman who is seeking an abortion (actor), the abortion itself (behavior), and the physician who evaluates the situation and makes a determination (evaluator). Dobbs overturned Roe, delegating authority to restrict abortion access to the states, leading to a policy patchwork and uncertainty about how to make medical decisions. This has created a “decision vacuum,” which occurs when an evaluator is unclear, but decisions still must occur. Given Dobbs, the role of voters in imagining how pregnancy termination decisions occur becomes a matter of extreme import. Reviewing the literature clarifies decision making in low information environments, how experts versus novices mentally represent knowledge, and the role of potential biases. Two key targets for further research: (1) people as voter, tasked with imagining a decision framework that includes the triad of actor, behavior, and evaluator, and (2) people as evaluator, tasked with enacting standards that regulate the behavior of other actors. Psychology must turn its attention to the decision vacuums that increasingly surround us all.