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Biosecurity Briefing
ACLU Advocates Changes to Government Pandemic Plans, Enters into Dialogue with HHS By Kunal Rambhia, January 18, 2008 On January 14, 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a report that identifies concerns about a perceived shift in pandemic planning strategy in the post-September 11 era which, according to the ACLU, has moved away from a public health focus and toward a law enforcement/national security focus. The report states that “policymakers are resorting to law enforcement and national security-oriented measures that not only suppress individual rights unnecessarily, but have been proven to be ineffective in stopping the spread of disease and saving lives.”1 The ACLU report offers both a criticism of the current strategy and an outline for a new approach to pandemic planning that focuses on health, justice, transparency, and accountability. Also on January 14, Reuters reported that the ACLU is wary of plans that include a mandatory containment strategy and treat people “as criminals and enemies of the state rather than [as] individuals in need of care.”2 The ACLU also is critical of an “all hazards” approach to public health emergency planning, stating that “each hazard has its own unique features.”1 The ACLU report offers specific recommendations with regard to stockpiling and distributing vaccines, community engagement, and protecting minorities and socially disadvantaged individuals. Specifically, the ACLU plan suggests that the government rely “whenever possible on voluntary social distancing measures rather than mandatory quarantines.”1 In an ACLU press release, Wendy E. Parmet of the Northeastern School of Law, who helped prepare the report, said “when people are sick, they want help…history shows that treating sick people like potential enemies only spurs them to avoid the authorities and exacerbates the spread of disease.”3 The ACLU report details recent historical examples, such as an incidence where a TB patient was held in solitary confinement by a local sheriff, as grounds for their criticism of current policy. In the Reuters article, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded to the ACLU report stating that the ACLU “misunderstood the government’s approach and said current plans already incorporate many of the ACLU’s recommendations.”2 HHS spokesman Bill Hall maintained that “the government plan stressed community and individual involvement” and that “respecting civil liberties has been an important component of our pandemic planning.”2 As reported by CQ Politics on January 14, Hall emphasized that “the only time [mandatory quarantine] would be used is to contain an outbreak before it becomes a full-blown pandemic.”4 HHS also clarified that mandatory quarantine is not the primary policy of the pandemic plan, rather one tool that might be employed. For further information: Center for Biosecurity Senior Associate Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana participated in ACLU’s National Press Club panel discussion held January 14, 2008, in tandem with the release of this report. Her remarks are posted on the Center’s website. References
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