Posted on 11/25/2009 9:57:10 AM PST by bs9021
Emergency Powers Test Run
Bethany Stotts, November 25, 2009
Could emergency powers given to state and federal leaders to deal with the H1N1 virus lead to violations of American civil liberties? Conditions at the state level may be a test of how wisely government officials will use their emergency powers.
The Constitution Project and the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS) recently convened a group of scholars to discuss the civil liberty implications of the governments response to the H1N1 pandemic.
One panelist, Boston University Professor Wendy Mariner expressed her concern that emergency laws meant to deal with epidemics that step outside the law merely define a new legal norm. Now, well always face the risk of epidemics just like we always face the risk of terrorist attacks right now, I guess, and if epidemics are assumed to be emergencies, then we will always be governed by emergency laws, she said. So its especially important to look at what the laws are so that we dont undermine fundamental human rights.
She argues that Emergencies are not really defined by a disease, theyre defined by the lack of capacity to respond, the lack of capacity to mitigate serious illness and death. Emergencies really only arise when something overwhelms our routine capabilities.
Instead of legislating for emergencies, it would be better to focus on supply-side issues like developing robust medical systems and robust public health systems, she said, outlining two types of law helpful to medical emergencies:
1) laws that clarify and streamline cross-jurisdictional relationships and
2) laws that actually develop and provide for care [and] services and products....
(Excerpt) Read more at academia.org ...
I think most folks would be hard pressed to equate the swine flu with an emergency at this point. 1. The vaccine isn’t being administered in great numbers and 2. the pan/epi-demic which our ‘crisis please’ Obama gov’t projected, just hasn’t emerged. Seasonal influenza kills more folks than H1N1 has at this point.
Agreed. H1N1 is a hoax like global warming, just another “emergency” to attempt to limit our freedoms.
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