NCJ Number
107751
Journal
University of Cincinnati Law Review Volume: 55 Issue: 1 Dated: (1986) Pages: 217-235
Date Published
1986
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Quarantine is too extreme an action for AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), a disease not spread by casual contact. Education should be the primary activity for the control of AIDS.
Abstract
At the present time the quarantine of AIDS victims should not be instituted except for extraordinary situations such as prisons, prostitutes, and persons unwilling or unable to conduct themselves safely. Although the police power gives a State the authority to quarantine a person believed dangerous to the public health, this power must be used reasonably. The power to quarantine cannot be abused and should never be motivated by fear. The medical community does not believe AIDS can be transmitted by casual contact, and thus a quarantine of victims cannot be justified. By educating those infected, as well as the general public, control of the disease can be achieved with the least amount of complications and the greatest amount of success. If the medical community does find, however, that AIDS can be transmitted by casual contact, quarantine would be reasonable, since this would make AIDS a grave enough risk to warrant reducing the risk of the spread of AIDS. 125 footnotes.