[NVIC] NY Mayor Wants More Forced Medicine

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E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

Vienna, Virginia http://www.nvic.org

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UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN

#8122

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" Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982. "

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BL Fisher Note:

" We rely on the forceful application of law democratically debated and

approved as the principal instrument of our public health policy, "

proclaimed New York City Mayor Bloomberg (D) proclaimed to an

enthusiastic audience of public health officials on June 14, 2006 at the

CDC's " The Public Health and the Law in the 21st Century: Fifth Annual

Partnership Conference " in Atlanta. Putting the emphasis on " control, " the

New York Mayor voiced support for more laws more strictly enforced by the

nation's health police to solve the problem of rampant diabetes and other

chronic illnesses plaguing the American people these days.

In what has become a familiar theme since the events of September 11,

2001, politicians are feeding the insatiable appetite of public health

officials to force medical treatment on people. With so many Americans

chronically ill and disabled after adhering to public health policies and

mandates advocating increased use of prescription drugs and vaccines over

the past half century, government officials are anxious to blame the poor

health of America on the citizens themselves. " Blame the Victim " is a

convenient out for government officials who are responsible for protecting

the public health.

During the past five years, there have been a number of state and federal

laws which have seriously eroded civil liberties in America. Many have

involved handing over unprecendented power to government health officials to

force citizens to engage in medical interventions without their informed

consent. Politicians like Mayor Bloomberg appear to have little appreciation

for the inherent danger in giving doctors employed by the State the power to

force citizens to follow doctors' orders.

The book " The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code " by s and

Grodin details many reasons why citizens of all states should

require doctors to adhere to the ethical principle of informed consent when

advocating citizens engage in any kind of medical treatment for the " greater

good " of society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/nyregion/15bloomberg.html

The New York Times, B3

June 15, 2006

Laws Can Be Good for You, Mayor Tells Health Officials

By Diane Cardwell

Atlanta, June 14 - Putting New York's aggressive public health agenda on a

national stage, Mayor R. Bloomberg told some of the nation's top

health officials on Wednesday that government should use laws to influence

behavior to fight chronic disease.

Appearing before a public health law conference here run by the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, Mr. Bloomberg urged other cities and the

federal government to follow New York's strategy to attack problems like

tobacco use, obesity and related ills.

" New threats result from, and are aggravated by, our forbearance, and even

social and economic encouragement, of such behavior as tobacco addiction,

unhealthy nutrition and excessively sedentary lifestyles, " Mr. Bloomberg

said, calling chronic and noncommunicable diseases like diabetes the biggest

health threats facing Americans.

" An effective public health strategy must therefore alter that calculus by

changing how we live, " he said.

Mr. Bloomberg also took the opportunity to criticize the federal government

for shortchanging New York and other cities in preparing for health

emergencies brought on by epidemics or bioterrorism.

Since taking office, Mr. Bloomberg has pushed through higher taxes on

cigarettes, imposed strict prohibitions on smoking in restaurants and bars,

mandated better nutrition and exercise programs for children in day care

centers and created a registry for people with diabetes. And his reception

in Atlanta was an indication that New York has become a model city for the

aggressive use of information and legal tools - including licensing,

regulation, tax policy, litigation and enforcement - to combat chronic

diseases.

Mr. Bloomberg's address, which drew applause about a half-dozen times, was

the keynote speech of the conference, a spot reserved for an elected

official who is a " recognized champion of public health, " said Lynn Austin,

chief of staff to the center's director, Dr. L. Gerberding.

Officials from the Public Health Law Association gave Mr. Bloomberg an award

for his record in public health.

" In 2001, the heartbeat of America was in New York City, " O'Brien,

the president of the association, said in presenting the award. " And a

decade from now, a century from now, the heart of New York City will beat

stronger because of what you're doing today. "

Mr. Bloomberg spent much of the speech outlining what he said were some of

the achievements of his administration, including a reduction in the teenage

smoking rate from 1 in 4 to 1 in 10, the strengthening of nutritional

standards for school lunches and the fighting against the influx of illegal

guns.

But the administration did not plan to stop there, he said. In addition to

working on the first comprehensive overhaul of the city's health code in 50

years, he said, the city would soon start a pilot program in the Bronx to

intervene with diabetes patients and their doctors when tests showed

dangerously high blood-sugar levels.

In addition, Mr. Bloomberg said, the city was contemplating other legal

steps to encourage greater physical activity by New Yorkers, but he declined

to provide any details.

Comparing his approach to the kind of full-out social effort that vanquished

polio and pushed for laws that required seat belts or helped reduce drunken

driving, Mr. Bloomberg said that although public education campaigns were an

important part of any strategy, they could not succeed on their own.

" We rely on the forceful application of law democratically debated and

approved as the principal instrument of our public health policy, " he said.

" Clearly there are many matters of personal behavior and personal taste that

we have no business regulating. But just as clearly, there are also areas in

which we have an obligation to act on what we know, on what incontrovertible

facts tell us. "

Even as he worked to promote his own approach, he used the speech to assail

the federal government for its policy and financing decisions, calling its

reactions to the threat of avian flu or a shortage of flu vaccine

disjointed.

Still stung over a 40 percent cut in New York's allocation of money for

domestic security, Mr. Bloomberg said that the only rational way to

distribute bioterror funds was based on population density and risk.

Clearly, he said, these were not the yardsticks being used.

" I really don't know how anyone can justify a distribution of bioterrorism

funds that awards $8.20 per person to North Dakota, when New York City gets

less than $3 per person, " he said, describing a preliminary plan for

distribution money from the Centers for Disease Control, which is part of

the federal Department of Health and Human Services, for the next fiscal

year.

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