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A Patient's Right Not To Hear: The Public Health Case For Challenging Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Description Mandates By Refocusing On The Listener, Juliana Shulman-Laniel

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

This Article argues for a reframing of the discourse surrounding abortion-specific informed consent laws, calling for scholars and practitioners to focus not solely on the physician’s right against compelled speech, but also a patient’s right not to listen. Although this right has not been firmly recognized by the courts, a growing body of case law and scholarly papers has begun to acknowledge the potential for this right. This Article begins by examining how bridging the First Amendment rights of doctors-as-speakers and patients-as-listeners within the context of the unique doctor-patient relationship may help to establish a patient’s right not to hear. …