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Democratic Deliberation And The Ethical Review Of Human Subjects Research, Govind Persad
Democratic Deliberation And The Ethical Review Of Human Subjects Research, Govind Persad
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
In the United States, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has proposed deliberative democracy as an approach for dealing with ethical issues surrounding synthetic biology. Deliberative democracy might similarly help us as we update the regulation of human subjects research. This paper considers how the values that deliberative democratic engagement aims to realize can be realized in a human subjects research context. Deliberative democracy is characterized by an ongoing exchange of ideas between participants, and an effort to justify decisions that bind participants by appeal to reasons that the participants can understand and share. Even when unanimous …
Libertarian Patriarchalism: Nudges, Procedural Roadblocks, And Reproductive Choice, Govind Persad
Libertarian Patriarchalism: Nudges, Procedural Roadblocks, And Reproductive Choice, Govind Persad
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler's proposal that social and legal institutions should steer individuals toward some options and away from others-a stance they dub "libertarian paternalism"-has provoked much high-level discussion in both academic and policy settings. Sunstein and Thaler believe that steering, or "nudging," individuals is easier to justify than the bans or mandates that traditional paternalism involves. This Article considers the connection between libertarian paternalism and the regulation of reproductive choice. I first discuss the use of nudges to discourage women from exercising their right to choose an abortion, or from becoming or remaining pregnant. I then argue that …
When, And How, Should Cognitive Bias Matter To Law, Govind Persad
When, And How, Should Cognitive Bias Matter To Law, Govind Persad
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Recent work in the behavioral sciences asserts that we are subject to a variety of cognitive biases. For example, we mourn losses more than we prize equivalently sized gains; we are more inclined to believe something if it matches our previous beliefs; and we even relate more warmly or coldly to others depending on whether the coffee cup we are holding is warm or cold. Drawing on this work, case law and legal scholarship have asserted that we have reason to select legal norms, or revise existing norms, so as to eliminate the influence of these and other cognitive biases. …