Blog #8: Quarantine/Isolation- Whose right and whose wrong?

The case I will discuss in today's blog is: Decision of the Supreme Court of South Carolina in the case of KIRK v. WYMAN. Quarantine is for those who have been exposed to an infectious disease, but they may or may not become ill. Isolation is for those who are known to be ill with a contagious disease. So, the difference between isolation and quarantine is the knowledge of whether or not you are infected after the exposure.
I definitely think that state health departments should make the decision as to whether someone should be quarantined. I also believe that the guidelines set for this decision should be agreed upon and made known to the public, and when it comes down to the decision, that it be made in honest judgement and meet every provision and requirement of the already set guidelines. As seen in this case, it became quite a sticky situation, especially since Mrs. Kirk believed and was given an opinion from a specialist in London that her form of leprosy was not contagious. Therefore, I think it should be necesary that the public is informed of the guidelines for quarantines. I also think that it should be stated somewhere that outside opinion is invalidated when you are in the city or state because it can never be clearly known if the opinion recieved from an outside source is valid.
Again, I truly do believe that the state should be held responsible for balance the right of the individual versus the right of the community. I believe that it is more appropriate to err to the side of protecting the rights of the community, but not to the extent that the individual is demoralized or humiliated in any way. I feel like, especially when it comes to contagious diseases, that the community at large should be widely protected, only because if it does spread, it only ends up putting more people in danger and can greatly impact the community in a dangerous way. Like the compromises made for Mrs. Kirk for the place she was staying in, I think that should definitely be instituted when relocating an exposed individual. Even thought it is rather inconvenient to her, it should be made to be understood that its for the protection of the community. This, however is a really sticky situation, but I do believe that the power resides with the states to make these decisions, come up with guidelines to be followed, and inform the public.

-Thomasina