PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Monday, February 11, 2002
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Citizens' Council on Health Care
1954 University Ave. W., Suite 8
St. Paul, MN 55104
http://www.cchconline.org
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CONTACT:Twila Brase, R.N., President
PHONE: 651-646-8935
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CCHC Testifies
to Constitutional Concerns in Minnesota Health Powers Act
- Despite concerns, bill passes committee
St. Paul, Minnesota- The Minnesota Emergency Health Powers Act
has faulty reasoning and constitutional concerns according to Citizens' Council
on Health Care (CCHC), a health care policy group which provided testimony in
the Senate Health and Family Security Committee today.
"[The bill] presumes that public health officials have and can commandeer
all the tools necessary to prevent or contain a public health disaster and that
members of the public must be forced to submit to public health
directives," said Twila Brase, president of CCHC.
"It defies post-September 11th experience by presuming that members of the
public will not help themselves, cannot help themselves, and are not willing to
help each other."
In particular, she listed five concerns about Senate File 2669 (Sen. Hottinger
(D-Mankato)):
o Power of Governor and public health officials
over members of the public, infringing on their constitutional rights of
freedom and conscience.
o Mandatory medical testing, medical treatment, specimen collection,
vaccinations, quarantine and isolation, with full immunity from any injuries
that resulted from actions and decisions of officials.
o Possible loss of licensure for health care providers who refused to follow
the orders of public health officials.
o Ongoing health surveillance without citizens or patient knowledge or consent.
o Rationing of medical supplies, medication and treatment.
Sen. Leo Foley(D-Coon Rapids) echoed Ms. Brase's concerns saying,
"It strikes me as we should be looking at some legal counsel reviewing
these for constitutional problems."
In addition, Ms. Brase expressed other concerns, including the broad definition
of "specimen"- the items public health officials could remove from
the human body.
"Body parts could be taken, Bone marrow could be extracted, Spinal taps
could be required. And DNA databases could be created," she testified.
She challenged committee members to consider three questions prior to voting on
the bill::
Will it work?
o Will it enhance the ability of people to protect themselves?
o Does it uphold the Constitutional rights you have taken an oath to defend?
The Minnesota Medical Association did not testify against the
bill, instead getting an amendment attached that will allow the Health
Department to expand health data reporting requirements through rule-making,
rather than through the legislative process.
Although the Office of the Attorney General expressed a few concerns about the
bill, Senate File 2669 was passed out of committee and sent to the Senate Judiciary
Committee for a hearing early next week.
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CCHC is an independent non-profit health care policy organization located in
St. Paul, Minnesota
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A free-market resource for designing the future of health care
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Citizens' Council on Health Care
1954 University Ave.W., Suite 8
St. Paul, MN 55104
651-646-8935 phone
651-646-0100 fax
http://www.cchconline.org
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