The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA)

August 12, 2009

Reprinted with permission from Matt Wuerker at cartoonistgroup.com

By Lawrence O. Gostin, et al

When explaining to people that the government will order a mass vaccination campaign as early as mid-September, 2009, many say, “They aren’t going to vaccinate me.” If you ask public health and law enforcement officials they will tell you that the law does not allow people to be vaccinated against their will. That may be true in times of peace while elected officials are performing their duties and civil governments are still empowered. However, in a declared state of emergency, the civil authority is supplanted by martial, or military authority. Civilian officials and employees may be “deputized” to help administrate martial authority during an emergency, but civil law is effectively suspended for the duration of the emergency. The following article, originally written in Dec., 2001, has been edited and updated slightly to show that, if/when a medical emergency is declared, people will be forced to submit to a variety of inconveniences without their consent—including invasive medical interventions—or face severe consequences one generally associates with war zones. It is also plainly stated that no one working for or with the government will be held liable for death or damages to persons or their properties should they result from good-faith performance of their “lawful” duties. Since October, 2001, the tenets of MSEHPA has been sewn into the pandemic preparedness plans of most, if not all, of the several states. ~PandemicFluOnline