Case Information
*1 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- bjeot reads aa follovar
ion of this dopar 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 restrlotlonr vhloh vould prevent the Texas State Health Department rending patients ln the in- feotlour #tags of a venereal dl8eese to the Rapid *2 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 ln Texas be trana- a patient mder quarantine 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- of the State Health Offloor to remove auoh Infected thorit person from this hate to mother state Zor treetment or deliver l uoh 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 Fleer Mexico 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 to reran1 a statute or alt.wtlon. Our search has failed pro~lalon vhloh rould authorize oonatltutlonal the deporta- tion OS a person ln the iaiaotloua stage of yenereal disease the boundaries of Texas to a sister state for from vlthln Peraona under this elaaaltloatlon vould not oomo treatment. 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 dellvary to another la prohibited. Innea vs. robin, 173 S.W. 291, aiflrmed by Il. 9. Supreme Court, 240 U.S. 127.
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796 Honorable (korgo W, Cox, Pager
Therefore, in tha abaenoe of express authority 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 treatment, vould be an illegal undertaking.
Your8 very t* ATPOW QHHHHAL OF TIUAS