Shannon Bennett
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http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/11736663539840.xml&coll=7
Oregon Legislature considers quarantine bill
Lawmakers weigh a measure that would safeguard civil liberties during a health emergency; hospital and law enforcement officials are critical of the bill
Monday, March 12, 2007 PATRICK O'NEILL
Oregon health authorities would be able to quarantine large numbers of people who had been exposed to disease-causing organisms under a bill being considered by the Oregon Legislature.
The bill, praised by the ACLU of Oregon but criticized by hospital and law enforcement officials, aims to streamline state health officials' response to public health emergencies while protecting individual rights.
The measure, House Bill 2185, was submitted to the Legislature by Gov. Ted Kulongoski on behalf of the Oregon Department of Human Services. It has been referred to a working group of the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy.
Dr. Gary Oxman, Multnomah County health officer and supporter of the measure, says current law addresses the need to quarantine one individual at a time. But in a time of concern over bioterrorism and the emergence of deadly communicable diseases such as SARS and avian influenza, state health officials are seeking ways to quarantine or isolate possibly hundreds of people at a time.
Oxman says that under current law, public health officials would have to file court actions individually against every member of a large group to be quarantined -- a cumbersome process in the midst of a severe disease outbreak or terrorist attack.
The new measure would permit the state's public health director or a local public health administrator to issue an emergency administrative order placing groups of people in quarantine or isolation.
The measure also includes civil rights protections, says David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon.
He says the bill clearly outlines -- for the first time in Oregon -- the rights of people who might be swept up in a public health emergency.
Fidanque envisions the results of a sudden widespread outbreak of a deadly illness -- perhaps sparked by a terrorist action. Those who might have been QUARANTINE B4
Oregon Legislature considers quarantine bill
Lawmakers weigh a measure that would safeguard civil liberties during a health emergency; hospital and law enforcement officials are critical of the bill
Monday, March 12, 2007 PATRICK O'NEILL
Oregon health authorities would be able to quarantine large numbers of people who had been exposed to disease-causing organisms under a bill being considered by the Oregon Legislature.
The bill, praised by the ACLU of Oregon but criticized by hospital and law enforcement officials, aims to streamline state health officials' response to public health emergencies while protecting individual rights.
The measure, House Bill 2185, was submitted to the Legislature by Gov. Ted Kulongoski on behalf of the Oregon Department of Human Services. It has been referred to a working group of the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy.
Dr. Gary Oxman, Multnomah County health officer and supporter of the measure, says current law addresses the need to quarantine one individual at a time. But in a time of concern over bioterrorism and the emergence of deadly communicable diseases such as SARS and avian influenza, state health officials are seeking ways to quarantine or isolate possibly hundreds of people at a time.
Oxman says that under current law, public health officials would have to file court actions individually against every member of a large group to be quarantined -- a cumbersome process in the midst of a severe disease outbreak or terrorist attack.
The new measure would permit the state's public health director or a local public health administrator to issue an emergency administrative order placing groups of people in quarantine or isolation.
The measure also includes civil rights protections, says David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon.
He says the bill clearly outlines -- for the first time in Oregon -- the rights of people who might be swept up in a public health emergency.
Fidanque envisions the results of a sudden widespread outbreak of a deadly illness -- perhaps sparked by a terrorist action. Those who might have been QUARANTINE B4