To break it to everyone, this stuff didn’t start with influenza, but for other, and really nasty, reasons.
Back in the “good ol’ days”, which was about through the end of World War II, the US was plagued with epidemics. This caused tremendous national anger, and there were many instances of almost war footing to subdue the damned things. Yellow fever, the poxes including smallpox, tuberculosis, polio, typhus, typhoid fever, whooping cough, etc.
Doctors who detected a serious communicable disease were instantly little dictators, because they had to be. Quarantines, arrest if necessary, and all the other things found in these bills were just expected of them.
Today, the wonder of antibiotics are losing their strength. The shield that kept America epidemic free for 60 years is no longer working as well as it used to.
This means some truly horrible diseases are again menacing our nation. Already, if someone is detected as having Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, they *will* be put behind bars in an isolation war. No lawyer, habeus corpus, or any other civil right that might endanger the public, is permitted.
And suddenly, we are faced with what could be the deadliest epidemic in human history. Not Swine flu, but Avian flu H5N1.
No matter how harsh this Massachusetts law may appear, it is nothing compared to this disease. There will be a public panic, the likes of which has never been seen before. Ironically, much of what is in the proposed law won’t do much of anything to slow down the disease, but put that down to helplessness, not tyranny.
Cities and towns will erect their own barricades against outsiders. The military may have to respond, but not as police, but just as spare hands, to help keep people fed, to drive trucks, whatever is needed.
The backhoes for digging the mass graves.
I can only speak for Texas, but in Texas, you have a right to habeas corpus, even in quarantine. Of course, if you do have full blown tuberculosis, and you have refused medication, and you have further continued to go out in public, hacking and coughing and spreading tuberculosis bacilli all over everyone you meet, the Texas Courts will find that your detention is legal, and leave you in the State TB Hospital, until your condition has improved.
Country is spoiled. Most people have no clue. If we ever had a pandemic with even a 1918 fatality rate of 3% or so, all this civil liberties stuff would go out the window. Three percent would mean the average HS would see 18 dead kids. Anyone who squawked about being inoculated or quarantined. wouldn't have to worry about the government. They would have to worry about some parent taking them out.