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Bioterrorism Law and Policy: Critical Choices in Public Health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

James G. Hodge Jr.
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Extract

There is perhaps no duty more fundamental to American government than the protection of the public's health, safety, and welfare. On September 11, 2001, this governmental duty was severely tested through a series of terrorist acts. The destruction of the World Trade Towers in New York City and a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., presented many Americans with a new, visible reality of the potential harms that terrorists can cause. The staggering loss of lives (estimated from 2,600 to 2,900) damaged the national psyche in ways far exceeding the physical scars to American institutions.

As horrific as the images of destruction and loss of human lives may be, events that unfolded after September 11 revealed another dreaded, and potentially more catastrophic, threat to Americans sense of security and public health: bioterrorism. Unlike terrorists that use bombs, explosives, or other tools for mass destruction, a bioterrorist's weapon is an infectious agent.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , Summer 2002 , pp. 254 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2002

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