Bioterror attack would pit lives vs. liberties, expert says

ATLANTA - A legal expert says a widespread bioterrist attack will force authorities into a tricky balancing act -- pitting the struggle to save lives against civil liberties. <br> <br> Stephen Teret -- chief of the Center for Law and Public Health -- told hundreds of health officials Monday that states must be extremely careful as they craft just-in-case special powers officials would assume in such an attack. <br> <br> He urged state and local officials to be as specific as possible about what constitutes a public health emergency -- the release of deadly smallpox virus -- for example -- to prevent abuse of the laws. <br> <br> Teret spoke at a conference on public health and the law called by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics. <br> <br> His center has proposed a model law that states can use as they develop their own. The model suggests giving authorities broad powers to close buildings, take over hospitals and order quarantines of citizens in a bioterror attack.