FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 8, 2005
Coalition Urges Senate to Protect Vaccine Supply
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Liberty Coalition, a trans-partisan public policy group dedicated to supporting and protecting civil liberties and human rights, recently sent a letter to the United States Senate in opposition to S 1873, The Bio-defense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005. This legislation removes liability from drug and vaccine manufacturers during an “emergency,” strips American citizens of their right to trial by jury and would ultimately compromise the safety and security of our nations drug supply.
“Enhancing our Nation’s bio-defense regime is important, but The Bio-defense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act would do more harm than good,” said Liberty Coalition National Director Michael Ostrolenk. “By deconstructing the basic framework of producer/consumer accountability, the bill removes a critical safeguard and puts the nation’s vaccine supply at risk.”
Under S 1873, anyone injured by a vaccine or drug during an emergency would be forced to appeal to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat, to redress their grievances. HHS would have the power to determine what constitutes an emergency, what products would be mandated via state emergency powers laws for use during that emergency, and who would have to take them to protect “public health.”
S 1873 also creates the Biomedical Research and Advanced Development Agency (BARDA) a new bureaucracy governed largely by drug company executives. The products BARDA develops would not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, open meeting laws, or cost accounting standards. Consumers, who could be mandated to take vaccines or products developed through this agency, could not find out what is in the products or any available information on safety or efficacy.
Among the voices of concern include several highly respected Liberty Coalition Partners from the Medical Community:
“Given the poor track record on pandemic prediction and flu vaccine safety and effectiveness, the last thing we should be doing is rushing through legislation that will potentially mandate untested and unsafe products on the American public who will have no recourse in the case of injury," said Dr. Karen R. Effrem, a board member of the Alliance for Human Research Protection.
“Every crisis, real or threatened, is being used to expand the power of government and abridge civil liberties.” said Dr. Jane Orient, Executive Director of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons. “Government should not have the power to force medical interventions on people in the name of serving the collective good. And if it does, the responsible entities must not be relieved of accountability for the harm that rash, untested, risky interventions may cause.”
To view a detailed legislative analysis, see http://www.ahrp.org/ahrpspeaks
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To arrange an interview with Mr. Ostrolenk, please contact Jesse Benton at 202-246-6363. For more information on The Liberty Coalition, please visit www.libertycoalition.net.
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