Letter to Community Activists
Town Hall Meeting on May 22, 2002 Regarding Health and Public Safety
Dear Community Activist:
(5/13/02) What would we do if a rash of anthrax mailings hit the
North Valley, or smallpox cases were reported in increasing numbers at
UNM Hospital? The terrible events of Sept. 11th, and more recently the
mailbox pipebomb incidents, serve as a wake-up call to state and local
governments to re-evaluate our ability to respond to a crisis.
To evaluate our readiness-here in the home of the Plague and Hantavirus,
I sponsored a Memorial to hold a number of town halls to look at public
health emergencies and how we can respond effectively to bioterrorism.
Please join me, the Attorney General's office and representatives from
the Departments of Health and Public Safety at a town hall meeting
in Albuquerque May 22 at 7 p.m. in the City Council chambers downtown.
- Your input is vital as we struggle together to balance civil liberties
with the need for public security. We need to answer important questions
like these:
- To what extent should the state or local government be able to isolate
individuals or quarantine entire communities in the face of exposure
to life-threatening communicable diseases?
- Should the state or local hospital be able to treat individuals with
appropriate medical care in the face of exposure to life threatening
communicable diseases without their permission-- or even when they explicitly
refuse?
- Can the state forcibly evacuate communities in the face of life-threatening
diseases and disasters?
- To what extent should the state or local government be able to quarantine
ranches/farms or individuals working with exposed livestock? To what
extent should the state embargo or recall food items found to be contaminated?
We need your ideas on these topics and others as we evaluate whether changes are needed to state law to protect ourselves against bioterrorism. and potential emergencies. Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Senator Dede Feldman
P.S. The on-again, off-again Special Session, based on a budget that no one likes, now seems to be off until after the primary elections.