E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

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UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN

#9119

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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."

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From Toni Krehel in FL:

On the eve of Jeb Bush's deadline for signing Florida's MEHPA, the Florida Times Union FINALLY heeded my call and printed a front-page article.

Toni Krehel, AP

Beaches Acu-Medical Center

Vaccine Awareness of North Florida

Tuesday, May 28, 2002

Critics rip plans for forced injections

Health officials to get bioterrorism authority

By P. Douglas Filaroski

Times-Union staff writer

A state still reeling from anthrax attacks is quietly preparing to give health officials the power to quarantine and require vaccinations in a bioterror attack.

Despite civil rights concerns, Gov. Jeb Bush said last week he intends to sign a law expanding the powers of Florida health officials in declaring emergencies.

"I've weighed the civil liberties issues against the needs for us as a state to be prepared, and I think I will sign," Bush said.

Bush's intentions rankled opponents barely heard amid Florida's budget battles this legislative session.

"Obviously, the threat from terrorism is very real," said Jim Frogue of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a state legislators association in Washington. "But the potential for negligence and willful abuse is very apparent."

In the wake of Sept. 11, most states this year considered ways to better prepare for bioterrorism -- an outbreak of smallpox or some other contagious or lethal disease.

Legislators in at least 20 states proposed stiffer quarantine and forced vaccination measures. Four states where opponents raised strong concerns rejected the tougher laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Florida -- the state where the anthrax attacks began -- the legislators' group was joined by a physicians association in voicing concern about health officials being able to declare an emergency and exercise powers for up to 60 days.

The law would allow officials under certain conditions to quarantine and require vaccinations despite a person's health or religious concerns.

The law would also give officials the authority to instruct in-state drugmakers to send medicines to counties deemed most needy in a bioterror attack.

"Imposing medical treatment on unwilling citizens at gunpoint, obliterating informed consent and due process of law, could be disastrous," said Jane Orient, director of Tucson, Ariz.-based Association of American Physicians.

Powers granted to an unelected health official are too broad, and conditions that constitute an emergency are not adequately defined, Orient said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida did not attend bill hearings. Legislative director Larry Spalding said he spoke with the governor's office about the measure.

Spalding said the bill appeared to have too much support. And there were too many other battles, including ones against public records exemptions, to put up a fight.

"If there is a true emergency, you are not going to hear a lot of opposition. ... We've had anthrax here," Spalding said. "The fear is that a lot of these powers are so general and concentrated that there is potential for abuse."

Florida's bill was based on a federal model from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. States must adopt measures to qualify for bioterrorism preparedness funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Rachel Morgan, who tracks legislation for the National Conference of State Legislators, said much of the opposition is based on ignorance of existing law.

Most states already had laws allowing quarantines and requiring vaccinations to control outbreak of infectious disease. The laws date back to flu epidemics after 1910 and the spread of polio in the 1940s and 1950s.

"A lot of this is just fine-tuning," Morgan said.

The U.S. government has acted quickly following Sept. 11, enacting new laws intended to keep a better eye on terrorists and the diseases they may try to spread.

People are concerned that not enough consideration is given to ramifications of new laws, Morgan said.

"There was obviously a lot of fear generated from what happened Sept. 11," she said. "Some of that is being directed to our government's response."

Staff writer P. Douglas Filaroski can be reached at (904) 359-4509 or via e-mail at [email protected].

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