NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey's mandatory quarantine for certain
travelers from Ebola-stricken West Africa will likely face its first
legal test
this week, after a lawyer for a quarantined nurse said she would file a federal lawsuit within days.
Norman
Siegel, a civil rights lawyer, said Kaci Hickox's isolation upon her
return from West Africa raised "serious constitutional and civil
liberties issues," given that she shows no Ebola symptoms and has not
tested positive for the disease.
"We're
not going to dispute that the government has, under certain
circumstances, the right to issue a quarantine," said Siegel, who was on
his way to visit Hickox in a New Jersey hospital. "The policy is overly
broad when applied to her.”
The
lawsuit would be the first to challenge the 21-day mandatory quarantine
imposed by New Jersey for anyone arriving with a high risk of having
contracted Ebola from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, where the
epidemic has killed nearly 5,000 people.
The case could also affect similar policies announced by other states including New York and Illinois.
The
lawsuit will argue that Hickox's constitutional right to due process
was violated when she was forced into isolation, Siegel said.
State
officials implemented a blanket policy without identifying a rational
basis for confining asymptomatic individuals like Hickox, he said.
"The case law makes clear that the policy should be driven by medical fact, not fear," he said.
Michelle
Mello, professor of law and public health at Harvard University, said
courts in such cases seek to balance the level of danger posed by the
disease with the likelihood that the individual poses a public threat.
But
she said courts have found reason to uphold past quarantines, even when
there was no definitive proof the individuals were ill.
"I don’t think it is clear, but I suspect when all is said and done, it won’t be successful," she said.
Lawrence
Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor and health expert, said
states' authority to issue quarantine orders is broad, but not
unlimited."I can’t recall a case in the 20th century where certain states are preparing to quarantine an entire class of people irrespective of their individualized risk," he said. "It just flies in the face of science, ethics and law."
In
such cases, courts typically seek the least restrictive alternative,
Gostin said, which might include voluntary confinement with monitoring.
He said other quarantines, such as for drug-resistant tuberculosis,
require a positive test.
Gostin has been in contact with Hickox via email to offer advice and support, he said.
Hickox,
the first person isolated under the new orders, arrived on Friday at
Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after working with
Ebola patients in Sierra Leone.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Hickox criticized the policy, saying she is "completely healthy."
But
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told Fox News on Sunday he would not
back down. "This is government's job ... to protect the safety and
health of our citizens."
The
White House, worried that the quarantine orders could impede the fight
against Ebola, has voiced its concerns to the governors of New Jersey,
New York and other states, a senior administration official said on
Sunday.
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