October 10, 2020
there oughta be a law. . . . . .
Oh! There is? Tell me -
Well, firstly let’s clarify/confirm what this is in reference too, right? I’m talking about laws that relate to and/or govern the known transmission of diseases to others - quite often to unsuspecting others that are unaware that a particular person is a carrier of a virus, or a transmissable disease.
Okay - so let’s start with this:
‘Take for example Iowa, which passed a law in 1998 that said people who were found guilty of knowingly exposing others to HIV faced up to 25 years in prison and had to register as sex offenders, even if they used a condom and didn’t infect anyone’
Wow! 25 years! Double WOW! But let’s be balanced and fair here - that’s SEX stuff we’re talkin’ about - you know, that dirty, bad, nasty sex stuff. STD’s and like that - yeah. So that’s like serious.
But in relation to that, in 2018 (before the pandemic) consider this:
[from radio station KPCC + NPR, June 22, 2018 - by Michelle Andrews]
An Ohio man who has the hepatitis C virus was sentenced to 18 months in prison on June 14 for spitting at Cleveland police and medics, according to a news report.
Matthew Wenzler, 27, was reportedly lying on a Cleveland street across from a downtown casino in January. When police and emergency medical technicians tried to put him on a stretcher to take him to a hospital, he spit saliva mixed with blood repeatedly at them, hitting an officer in the eye.
In Ohio, it’s a felony for people who know they have HIV, viral hepatitis or tuberculosis to intentionally expose another person to their blood, semen, urine, feces or other bodily substances such as saliva with the intent to harass or threaten the person.
Phew! Well, now THAT’s really serious! I mean the guy was a carrier - in the opinions of many medical experts that makes him a walking time-bomb!
A felony, no less. Hmmmm - food for thought. Now hold that thought - we’re gonna visit some other facts, details.
Take a long hard look at the following:
Advancing the right to health: the vital role of law
Authors: Professor Roger Magnusson, Professor of Health Law & Governance,
Sydney Law School, University of Sydney
Chapter 10: Controlling the spread of infectious diseases SUMMARY POINTS ·
Minimizing the transmission of infectious diseases is a core function of public health law. The appropriate exercise of legal powers will vary according to the seriousness of the disease, the means of transmission, and how easily the disease is transmitted.
Law can contribute to the prevention of infectious diseases by improving access to vaccinations and contraceptives, and by facilitating screening, counselling and education of those at risk of infection. Law also has a reactive role: supporting access to treatment, and authorizing public health authorities to limit contact with infectious individuals and to exercise emergency powers in response to disease outbreaks.
Where public health laws authorize interferences with freedom of movement, the right to control one’s health and body, privacy, and property rights, they should balance these private rights with the public health interest in an ethical and transparent way. Public health powers should be based on the principles of public health necessity, reasonable and effective means, proportionality, distributive justice, and transparency….and from the same source: Governments should carefully consider the appropriate role of criminal law when amending laws to prevent the transmission of infectious and communicable diseases.
There is this quite amazing, altruistic web presence known as NOLO.
What is NOLO? For more detailed information you can follow the link, but in brief, according to their web-site, it is in part, the following:
The Nolo Network
With over 50 web properties, the Nolo Network is one of the web’s largest libraries of consumer-friendly legal information - all available for free. With oversight from Nolo’s editorial team, we strive to deliver free legal information of the highest quality. We also offer local lawyers the ability to contribute to the Nolo network.
And an important question for today’s world is:
Is It a Crime to Intentionally Get Someone Sick?
Given current circumstances, do we know anyone that this might apply to?
Yes! Of course we do - Mr. President Donald J. Trump. Why, immediately upon arriving back at he White House on Monday evening, he removed his mask, entered, exited, then re-entered an interior space wherein a number of trusting government personnel were waiting to assist him. He was, defiantly, irresponsibly, maskless………
And so that question, today, is really, really important. It doesn’t only pertain to last Monday night - it applies to the rallies, the meetings - the gatherings wherein Trump is most likely still contagious. So, to continue –
Is It a Crime to Intentionally Get Someone Sick?
You bet yer ass it is!
According to NOLO, A person whose intentional or reckless behavior spreads an infectious disease, such as HIV, SARS, or COVID-19, could face criminal charges.
By Stacy Barrett
Spreading the common cold doesn’t carry criminal consequences. But intentional or reckless behavior that spreads a disease with serious public health consequences - such as HIV, SARS, Ebola, or COVID-19 - can result in criminal charges.
And a little further on in that same article:
Could I Be Charged With a Crime for Spreading the Coronavirus?
As the new coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads across the country, prosecutors are using criminal laws to punish people who purposely expose or threaten to expose others to the virus.
In some states, prosecutors have charged violations of specific statutes prohibiting the intentional exposure and transmission of communicable diseases. Other states are using general criminal laws to prosecute people who have intentionally spread or threatened to spread the virus. For example, prosecutors can charge “coronavirus coughers” (people who intentionally cough or spit on others while claiming to have the virus) with assault and battery or making terrorist threats.
More commonly, states are using criminal penalties to enforce public health interventions, like quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, to limit the spread of the virus.
Well, well, well - ain’t that all a corker. There oughta be a law?
There do be a law - in fact a whole whack of ’em - but like most laws,
Mr. President Donald J. Trump, along with his posse consisting of Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and others - they blithely ignore the laws - and the consequences of their criminally irresponsible behavior.
Yer all sure you want these guys to still be running the country (into the ground) for yet another four years?
Whaaat? Are y’all as crazy as they are?
Don’t answer that!
©michaelXmoore 2020
