"Model Emergency Health Powers Act" and the Older Adult: Balancing Bioterrorist Containment with Civil Rights and Liberties
Maria R. Schimer, MPH, JD

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• Objectives
• Resources and References
• About the Author
• Self Test (For your own learning purposes try our post-test.)
  
  

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Objectives:

By the end of this presentation, the participant should be able to:

Resources and References:

Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 116 Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Emergency Planning and Notification. 42 U.S.C.S. § 11001 (2004).

Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 103 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Hazardous Substances Release, Liability, Compensation. 42 U.S.C.S. § 9602 (2004).

The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act. 2001 Bill Text OH S.B. 296.

A law review article that asserts which states have adopted legislation that is “substantially similar” to The Model State Emergency Health Powers act. George J. Annas, Blinded by Bioterrorism: Public Health and Liberty in the 21st Century, 13 Health Matrix 33 (Winter 2003).

A United States District Court granted a preliminary injunction and enjoined a school district from barring the children from attending school without proper certificates of immunization during the remainder of the civil action. Kathryn Berg and Daniel Berg v. Glen Cove City School Dist., 853 F. Supp. 651 (1994).

The Toledo Municipal Court of Ohio held that the city’s fire department did not violate Fourth Amendment rights by conducting a search without a search warrant because there was no shift from administrative compliance inspection to a search for evidence to be used in a criminal prosecution. City of Toledo v. Seto, Inc., 81 Ohio Misc. 2d 1 (1996).

The Franklin County Municipal Court of Ohio held that the Columbus Board of Health and the Franklin County District Board of Health could not enforce a “Non-Smoking Policy Regulation." Cookie's Diner v. Columbus Bd. of Health, 65 Ohio Misc. 2d 65 (1994).

An Ohio Common Pleas Court decision that holds that regulation by a Board of Education that provides for compulsory vaccinations is valid as a reasonable exercise of the Board’s authority and does not interfere with the Constitutional guarantees of Freedom of Religion. Dunham v. Board of Educ. Of City Sch. Dist. Of City of Cincinnati, 99 N.E.2d 183 (1950).

A book focusing on the government’s public health infrastructure. The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century <http://books.nap.edu/books/030908704X/html/96.html#page top> (accessed June 18, 2004).

A United States District Court case that states if a plaintiff makes a threshold showing of a substantial burden on the right of free exercise of religion, the government must demonstrate that applying the burden to the individual furthers a compelling state interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. Jihad v. Wright, 929 F. Supp. 325 (1996).

A United States District Court held that school violated the parents' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion by denying a requested exemption to a vaccination under New York’s Public Health Law. Mariela Lewis, Alan Fishkin, and Abigail Lewis-Fishkin v. Thomas Sobol, Dr. David Axelroddr, Donald Batista, Lois Jameison, Lillian Mein, and Yonkers Public School District, 710 F. Supp. 506 (1989).

Model State Public Health Act: A Tool for Assessing Public Health Laws, (Seattle, Washington: Turning Point National Program Office, 2003).

The Ohio Constitution Article 1 Bill of Rights Section 1 Inalienable Rights. Ohio Const. art. I, § 1.

Title 1 State Government Chapter 163 Appropriation of Property. O.R.C. § 163 (Anderson 2004).

Title 37 Health, Safety, Morals Chapter 3745 Environmental Protection Agency. O.R.C. § 3745 (Anderson 2004).

Title 37 Health, Safety, Morals Chapter 3748 Radiation Control Program § 3748.02 Department of health designated radiation control agency; employees. O.R.C. § 3748.02 (Anderson 2004).

Title 37 Health, Safety, Morals Chapter 3750 Emergency Planning § 3750.02 Emergency response commission. O.R.C. § 3750.02 (Anderson 2004).

Title 55 Roads, Highways, Bridges Chapter 5502 Department of Public Safety Emergency Management § 5502.21 Definitions. O.R.C. § 5502.21 (Anderson 2004).

A California Appeals Court held that when there are no emergency circumstances, an administrative search warrant should be obtained in order for a person to turn their dog over to the police even though the dog may have had rabies. In re Daniel A. Quackenbush on Habeas Corpus, 41 Cal. App. 4th 1301 (1996).

An Ohio Court of Appeals upheld an ordinance banning pit bulls holding that the ordinance was reasonably related to the city's interest in protecting the health and safety of its residents. Singer v. City of Cincinnati, 57 Ohio App. 3d 1 (1990

The United States Court of Federal Claims held that there was no causal relationship between an infant's condition at the time of receiving vaccinations and the infant's current condition. Robert Tersen and Sharon Tersen v. Sec. of the Dept. of Health and Human Serv., 2000 WL 656715 (Fed. Cl. 2000).

The United States Constitution’s Commerce Clause. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8 cl. 3.

U.S. Const. art. I, § 9.

The United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights. U.S. Const. amend. I – X.

U.S. Const. amend. IV.

About the Author:

Maria R. Schimer, MPH, JD, is the general counsel, director of the Office of Geriatric Medicine/Gerontology and associate professor of community health sciences at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. She is chairperson of the Institute for Community Based Medicine and the Law, a collaborative venture between NEOUCOM and The University of Akron School of Law. She is also associate consortium director of the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center. Attorney Schimer was named a Permanent Master Teacher on Aug. 28, 2002.

Attorney Schimer holds a law degree, from The University of Akron, where she graduated with honors, and master's degrees in public health planning and administration and gerontology from the The University of Michigan. She also holds bachelor's degrees in nursing and sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Attorney Schimer is very active in the area of patients' rights, particularly the rights of older adults. As a gifted teacher, she is frequently invited to speak throughout the state on numerous topics including advance directives, competency and informed consent, right-to-die issues, and other legal aspects of the health care profession.