Question

n Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905), the United States Supreme Court upheld the right of states to enact compulsory vaccination laws—one of the most challenging constitutional dimensions of public health. It also provided the terms for what would eventually become a core question of public health ethics.

This case has become the precedent for many cases that have challenged vaccination laws. Both majority and dissenting opinions in numerous decisions have cited this case in reference to states’ authority to constrain individual behavior. These cases have involved issues ranging from fluoridation of municipal water supplies, to abortion, to the right to die. In Buck v. Bell (1927), the Supreme Court usedJacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) to uphold a forced-sterilization law using the reasoning that society must be protected from the burdens imposed by the offspring of “imbeciles.” Despite the troubling uses to which this decision has been put, public health law texts continue to cite the case as an example of the ways that public health practices must resolve the tensions between individual rights and the collective well-being.

Based on these Supreme Court decisions, respond to the following:

• Do you believe health departments should be able to enter your house without a warrant from a judge?
• Should health departments be able to isolate or quarantine you without a trial? Why or why not?

Answer 1

1st Answer: According to my opinion, the health departments should not be able to enter your house without a warrant from a judge unless they have a 100% confirmed surety that they would collect enough evidence of a crime that is being committed. Non-availabilty of any or no evidence could lead to a case on the health department under the laws of trespassing and interfering with an individuals personal space.

2nd Answer: No, health departments should not be able to isolate or quarantine a person without a trial unless they are sure that a person has any health related issues or poses a threat to the environment where they live. A proper examination of the person must be done and if the they test positive for the harmful disease, then they can be put into isolation or quarantine. In certain cases a group of individuals like astronauts, people travelling in a group to hazardous places may be put under quarantine for few days to check if they have any harmful disease before letting them out into the society. This is done as a preventive measure so that the society is not under any threat of being infected.