http://www.lp.org/press/op-eds.php?function=view&record=22

Libertarian Party Op-Eds

January 18, 2002

An Overreaction to the Bioterrorism Threat: Why the "Emergency Health Powers Act" is Not The Answer
by Steve Dasbach

An Overreaction to the Bioterrorism Threat

Why the "Emergency Health Powers Act" is Not The Answer

By Steve Dasbach

(775 words)

Imagine this scenario: A dozen people in your state are suddenly stricken with a mysterious disease. No one is sure what is causing it, how it spreads, or how serious it might be.

Panicking, your governor declares a "Bioterrorism Emergency."

He calls out the National Guard and orders them to take control of hospitals, newspapers, gas stations, and electric companies.

He announces that the state government has taken over all food distribution, will ration alcohol, and has banned the sale of firearms.

He sets up roadblocks at state borders, so no potentially infected person can leave the state.

Sound farfetched?

Not under the "Model Emergency Health Powers Act" (MEHPA) -- a sweeping new proposal written by the Centers for Disease Control.

Designed to help state health agencies cope with a sudden outbreak of anthrax, smallpox, or other bioterrorism attack, 12 states have introduced or are about to introduce the legislation. Health experts predict that every state will consider its own version this year.

The specifics of the proposal are astonishing:

* MEHPA gives governors the power to declare a public health emergency, without consulting public health officials, the legislature, or the courts.

* MEHPA allows public health officials to mandate quarantines for people suspected of having an "infectious disease," and require vaccinations and medical exams. Doctors could be forced to provide them, and would face fines if they refuse.

* MEHPA gives states authority to share individuals' personal health information, including tissue samples (genetic information), and the names of people the "infectious person" may have come into contact with.

* MEHPA permits states to mobilize the "organized militia" to seize control of any private property the governor deems "reasonable and necessary" to cope with the emergency, such as "communication devices, real estate, fuels, food, clothing, and health care facilities."

* MEHPA allows the governor to destroy private property alleged to be hazardous to public health, in some cases without compensation.

* MEHPA empowers states to "control and restrict alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives, and combustibles."

There are a number of profoundly troubling aspects to the legislation.

First, the definition of an "emergency" is alarmingly vague. According to MEHPA, a public health emergency is "an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness or health condition...caused by bioterrorism...that poses a substantial risk of a significant number of human fatalities."

Is a "significant number" five -- the number of Americans killed by the anthrax attacks? Is it the dozen given in the example above? Is it 500? Is it 5,000?

Certainly, we wouldn't want a hysterical governor to assume such massive power if a handful of individuals come down with a mysterious disease. Under MEHPA, governors may have been empowered to declare a "bioterrorism emergency" following the original outbreaks of Legionnaire's Disease or AIDS -- both, at the time, undiagnosed and unexplained diseases.

Second, the definition of an "infectious disease" is equally vague. According to MEHPA, it is any disease "caused by a living organism," which "may, or may not, be transmissible from person to person, animal to person, or insect to person."

Health experts say such a broad definition could encompass even a virulent flu outbreak. Remember: A governor is not required to consult a single medical expert before declaring an emergency. The truth is, if your state passes this legislation, a bioterrorism attack will be whatever your governor says it is.

Finally, MEHPA appears to be an overreaction to a past government failure. A primary function of the federal government, as defined in the Constitution, is to protect Americans against foreign attack. On September 11, the government failed in that crucial role.

Now, instead of reflexively expanding government power at the state level, perhaps it's time to ask why politicians were so unprepared in the first place.

Perhaps lack of money will be their excuse. Yet most states have been wallowing in budget surpluses for the last decade.

A more sensible explanation is that politicians have been squandering millions of tax dollars on sports stadiums, museums, business subsidies, pork-barrel projects, and hundreds of other needless programs. In other words, they've been doing everything but preparing for a real emergency.

Imagine, instead, if states had concentrated on stockpiling vaccines, setting up early-warning testing procedures for bioterror attacks, purchasing protective gear for emergency medical personnel, and building a network of specialized medical facilities.

It's possible that states might already have a sensible, practical, limited bioterrorism response in place -- instead of having to scramble to pass a hastily written law that, frankly, should make every American apprehensive.

Remember this when your state legislature debates MEHPA: Just because something is done in the name of 'combating terrorism' doesn't make it right, or sensible, or necessary.

* Steve Dasbach is executive director of the Washington, DC-based Libertarian Party.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.