slate.com — Last week, the CDC isolated Andrew Speaker, infected with tuberculosis. By the time officials issued the order, however, the man had already traveled to France, Greece, and Italy for his wedding and honeymoon, exposing a number of airline passengers to the disease along the way. When can the government quarantine its citizens?
Jun 4, 2007 View in Crawl 4
dustonJun 5, 2007
@sjbdallas (#7027633)While I could be wrong I was under the impression that the State couldn't deprive me of liberty (freedom) without due process.
dustonJun 5, 2007
@SteelChicken (#7026879)A libertarian advocating executing someone for POTENTIALLY infecting others with a difficult to treat disease? So should we next order the executions of anyone who has HIV/AIDS because they MAY give it to some one else?
Closed AccountJun 5, 2007
In about 10 years time, when you get to the end of it, you'll wonder why you even bothered and won't even remember what TB is.
egoistJun 5, 2007
@Duston: That's why they got a court order to hold him in isolation. Speaker has the right to appeal that decision and he has not. I fail to see how he's being denied due process.Who decides if a person could be the beginning of a pandemic and should be tossed into isolation to protect the public? The CDC would be a good start.
jimxugleJun 5, 2007
My View:When a person is diagnosed with a highly infectious and/or incurable disease (some forms of TB, AIDS, Smallpox, etc) they should be instructed to take reasonable precautions (wear a face mask, use a condom, etc). If they choose to put others at risk (by coughing in public, having unprotected sex) then it becomes necessary to put that person before a judge and most likely quarantine that person. The key here is to give them a chance, and if they blow it, then the government has to take action.-jX
Closed AccountJun 5, 2007
seriously entropy lets bury the hatchet OK?
Closed AccountJun 6, 2007
@lamda951 (#7037425)I'm not saying what he did was right but he probably just panicked and wanted to get home.
fixedcomaJun 7, 2007
i read a similar story like this a few months ago is this the same story finally hitting the TV landers or is this a different story?
rome420May 14, 2008
its not just a question of when a government can quarantine a citizen of its nation but also when a government can quarantine a foreigner. the point is, quarantine is necessary and not participating even though you are aware you are carrying a contagious disease is both selfish and irresposiblecheck out <a class="user" href="http://www.rhodes.com">http://www.rhodes.com</a> for more articles and images