Legal basis for public health:
Legal basis for public health Protection of general welfare & regulation of interstate commerce
Constitutional
Judicial
Administrative
Legislative
Legal basis for public health:
Legal basis for public health The U.S. has “its cultural notions of individuality, due process, and skepticism of government.”*
Jacobson vs. Massachusetts
Controlling communicable disease
*Rothstein et al. (2003) Quarantine and Isolation, Lessons Learned from SARS, Executive Summary, 2003 p. 12.
Impact on government and public health:
Impact on government and public health Limited federal powers
State, county, local governments
Inconsistencies
Public smoking policies
STD tracking
State police powers:
State police powers Police powers
Limit individual actions
Care for the underserved
Social and market justice
Enforcement
Authority to control communicable disease:
Authority to control communicable disease Police powers
State duty and authority
Due process and equal protection
Example:
Whooping Cough in WNC
References:
References Bompey, Nanci. (2008, Sept. 5) Mountains hit with cases of whooping cough. Asheville Citizen-Times. Pp.1,4.
Moore, Jill, MPH, JD. (Presenter) (2003) Introduction to Communicable Disease Law, Part I and II. Chapel Hill, NC: Lecture for North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness training website.
Turnock, B. (2004) Public Health: What it is and how it works. 3rd ed. Sudbury, MA. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.