State Model Emergency Health Powers Act Resolution

by the Constitution Party National Committee – March 2002 – Charleston, South Carolina

Whereas, the Bush administration and the Federal government are promoting the Model Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) for enactment by the fifty states, which completely eliminates the safeguard of separation of powers and checks and balances. The MEHPA makes the governor a dictator, taking all powers of government including legislative, executive, and judicial, and

Whereas, the MEHPA only allows the State Legislature to take action by a super majority vote sixty days after the governor declares a health emergency, and

Whereas, the Legislature can only take action “upon finding that the occurrence of an illness or health condition that caused the emergency does not or no longer poses” a threat, which is extremely limiting, and

Whereas, under MEHPA state and local health officers, along with Governors, are granted dictatorial levels of power with no appeals process to remedy their unilateral decisions to force people to receive medical treatment, vaccines, be isolated, quarantined; otherwise to be charged with a misdemeanor and possibly end up in jail, and

Whereas, the MEHPA provides no religious or conscientious objections to medical treatment and vaccines, and

Whereas, in MEHPA there is no recognition of parent’s rights and responsibilities with regard to their children. This is important when you consider that people possibly might be quarantined separately from their children, and

Whereas, the MEHPA allows government to confiscate private property including food, fuel and clothing, and if so, without just compensation, and

Whereas, alternative health options are completely left out of the MEHPA. There should be recognition that alternatives to standard medical treatments and vaccines, etc., are available, often highly effective and far less dangerous, and

Whereas, the MEHPA provides for the collection of personal medical information, DNA, tests, etc., the privacy of which is not protected. MEHPA provides that the information will be turned over to the Federal government and used for research and end up in state and federal databases. This is a serious breach of our Fourth Amendment search, seizure, and privacy rights. Therefore, let it be

Resolved, that the Constitution Party opposes all versions of the State Model Emergency Health Powers Act.