Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

794
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable Oeorge W. Cox
stste Eeslth Offloer
Texar State Board of Health
Austin 2, Texar
Deer sirs
requesting the opln-
ion of this dopar bjeot reads aa follovar
18 opemtlng
are hospital
treatment of
ge of a venereal
looated rt El Paso,
and Corpus Chrletl
ed on the aoooqmy-
ote, there 18 no aenter.
sotlon of Texar.
8 Rapid Treatment Center located
IIOV Mexloo, and it 18 the olose8t
e part of Texan in quertlon. I
0 get your opinion on the follovlng
“Provided It la a roeable vlth the State
Health Offloor of Rwf i extioo, are there any legal
restrlotlonrvhloh vould prevent the Texas State
Health Department rending patients ln the in-
feotlour #tags of a venereal dl8eese to the Rapid
Honorable George U. Cox, Page~2
Treatment Center In Albuqueque for treatment
and -are? Suoh patients are admltted to these
oentera br voluntary adalaalon or by quarantine
oommlttamnt signed by the health ofiloer. Can
a patient mder quarantine ln Texas be trana-
ported into lfev Mexioo so far as our Texas lava
we oonoerned?”
You have been advised by thla department la Opinion
lo. 0-4736 t&t the State Health Offlo~r la authorized to
plaoe a person la tha lnfeotloua stage of a venereal disease
under qwrantlne and to rewove awh peraon from on6 oounty
to snother for treatment; and later, in Opinion Ilo. O-5610,
that the State Health Offloer vaa authorized to oo-operate
with the Federal Oovernment In the dellvely ot personr
under quarantine to certain Federal oontrolled treatment
oentera. Tour present question, hovever, relates to the au-
thorit of the State Health Offloor to remove auoh Infected
person from this hate to mother state Zor treetment or to
deliver luoh person held under quarantiru to the authorities
of another atate.
Fro8 aa exaralaation of the authorities under vhloh
the lrederal Oovemment malnhlna the treatment oentera re-
ferred to in Tour letter, ve hve fall& to find any law that
vould p-rent a person under quaxmtlno in Tuxna la the in-
feotloua rtage of venereal dlreaae from voluntarily aubmlttlug
to treatment ln Albuquerque, Nev tixioo and the deliver7 of
such pmaon to the author~tlea of the State of FleerMexico by
the State Health Oftloer or his agent rould not oonfllot vlth
6~ Texas oonatltutlonal provlaio~ or statute.
Hovever, the forcible removal fro8 this State of
persona held under quarantine, presents an entirely different
alt.wtlon. Our search has failed to reran1 a statute or 8
oonatltutlonal pro~lalon vhloh rould authorize the deporta-
tion OS a person ln the iaiaotloua stage of yenereal disease
from vlthln the boundaries of Texas to a sister state for
treatment. Peraona under this elaaaltloatlon vould not oomo
under the extredltlon lav aa they 11ra not fugltlver from
juatloe oherged vlth a orlme In the other state. In an al-
moat unbroken line of deolalana, both la Fedora1 and State
jurladlotlon, the rule haa been expressed that the surrender
of a person ln one state for dellvary to another la prohibited.
Innea vs. robin, 173 S.W. 291, aiflrmed by Il. 9. Supreme Court,
240 U.S. 127.
. ,
796
Honorable (korgo W, Cox, Pager 3
Therefore, in tha abaenoe of express authority to
so do, it la the opinion OS’this depsrtment that the deport-
ing of a venereal patient, held under quamtine, from Texas
to llev *x100 for treatment, vould be an illegal undertaking.
Your8 very t*
ATPOW QHHHHAL OF TIUAS