Washington – States should have the power to restrict the movement of patients with contagious diseases even before they have the chance to disobey doctors’ orders, federal health officials say.
The need for such authority to order someone quarantined emerged as lesson No. 1 from the case of Atlanta lawyer Andrew Speaker, who went to Europe despite having a dangerous form of tuberculosis and is now being treated in Denver.
“If we believe the patient has a strong intent to put others at risk, we need to have confidence we can take action absent documentation of intent to cause harm,” Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Senate Appropriations panel last week.
Gerberding also mentioned outfitting a plane so the government could fly patients long distances without fear of contaminating others on board and improving communications among government agencies.
The ability to require that someone be kept in isolation leads to legal and ethical questions.
“That’s not the federal government’s role, and it’s far, far too broad a statement. There has to be a credible threat, a direct threat of harm before you restrict someone’s freedom to move, before you intrude on their individual liberties,” said Peter Jacobson, director of the Center for Law and Ethics and Health at the University of Michigan.
