Contained? Government Authority During a Health Crisis

On January 31st, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a national public health emergency in response to the global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With the warnings from health officials that the virus will “almost certainly” spread in the United States becoming reality, what legal authorities do federal and state governments have at their disposal to deal with this outbreak? Is a quarantine possible? Are there war-time precedents that the government can rely upon to force private industry to produce medical supplies? And what limitations on government action exist to ensure that civil liberties aren’t infringed and that the health crisis isn’t misused for political reasons?

Listen to the call.

Featured Speakers:

Michele Goodwin, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy, University of California Irvine School of Law

Stephen Vladeck, A. Dalton Cross Professor of Law, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Debra Perlin, Director of Policy and Program, ACS, Moderator

Resources on Government Authority During a Health Crisis

• No Immunity: Race, Class, and Civil Liberties in Times of Health Crisis by Michele Goodwin and Erwin Chemerinsky
• The Quarantine Power: A Primer in Light of the Coronavirus Situation by Robert Chesney
• The Coronavirus Shows Why the U.S. Must Make Pandemic Disease a National Security Priority by Lisa Monaco
• The Alarming Scope of the President’s Emergency Powers by Elizabeth Goitein
• US Emergency Legal Responses to Novel Coronavirus: Balancing Public Health and Civil Liberties by Lawrence Gostin and James Hodge Jr.
• The Field Theory: Martial Law, The Suspension Power, and the Insurrection Act by Stephen Vladeck
• State Law Gives Gov. Ducey Wide Authority to Deal with Viral Outbreak Like Coronavirus by Howard Fischer
• Florida Governor Declares Public Health Emergency After State Records First Coronavirus Cases by Aris Folley
• Government Eyes War Powers to Speed Medical Manufacturing Ahead of Virus by Noah Weiland and Emily Cochrane
• Some Election Officials Scrambling to Address Coronavirus Concerns Ahead of Super Tuesday by Kelly Cannon
• Experts Say Officials Need a ‘Plan B’ for the 2020 Elections In Case the Coronavirus Continues to Spread in the US by Eliza Relman