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Congressional
Leaders Challenge Unprecedented Legislation
Giving Immunity to Drug Companies
Send A Message Urging Repeal
Tell
Congress That You Object to a
Legislative
Process Abused by Exercise of
Political Muscle and Parliamentary Trick
Despite
vocal opposition by numerous consumer organizations, including A-CHAMP,
Eagle Forum, Voice of the Environment, Public Citizen and many first
responder organizations (e.g., nurses, firemen, veterans) legislative
trickery carried the day when Congress passed the "Public
Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act", far-reaching
and unprecedented legislation giving liability protection to vaccine
makers and preempting state vaccine safety legislation for pandemic
countermeasures. Now you can voice your support for those representatives
who are working to repeal this dangerous legislation. For a
news account of the efforts by some representatives to repeal this
legislation click here.
To read Senator Edward Kennedy's letter demanding repeal of the legislation
go here.
For a recent
account of the secret manipulation that led to this legislation click
here.
For a summary of the legislative trickery and abuse of process used
to get this legislation was enacted click here.
For a report about how HHS Secretary Leavitt plans to use this legislation
to declare an "emergency" that will give pharmaceutical companies
immunity for their clinical trials of avian flu vaccine click here.
Below
are some reasons why we oppose the "Public Readiness and Emergency
Preparedness Act." We urge you to write your Federal and State
legislators to express your opposition to this unprecedented and dangerous
legislation. Many legislators have no idea of the effect of
this bill. We need to educate them and have it REPEALED!
Here's why:
1) The legislation
allows use of thimerosal in vaccines.
If the Secretary
of Health and Human Services (HHS) designates that a vaccine
is a "covered countermeasure" thimerosal (a mercury containing preservative)
can be used in the vaccine, even if a state has enacted legislation
banning or limiting the use of thimerosal (for example, California).
2) The legislation
provides immunity for ALL drugs and vaccines.
The language
contained in the legislation applies to any drug, vaccine, or biological
product that the HHS Secretary deems a "covered countermeasure."
This list could include any commercial drug (e.g., Tylenol) and
is not limited in any way to drugs or vaccines meant to treat a potential pandemic
like avian flu. The far-reaching nature of the bill was misrepresented
in Congress and in much of the media, where the legislation was presented
as primarily concerned with preparations to combat the avian flu.
Since the HHS Secretary has described everything from obesity to diabetes
to heart disease as epidemics, under the term of this legislation
many drugs and vaccines would be covered, whether or not they
relate to dangerous pandemics or bioterrorism. There is a serious
potential for abuse of this provision by a government known to be
"friendly" to the pharmaceutical industry.
3) Under the
legislation immunity can be granted to drug companies at ANY time.
The immunity provisions
of this bill are triggered if the HHS Secretary declares that a health
condition causes a public health emergency or that some health condition
could become an emergency at some point in the future.
There is nothing in the language of this legislation that requires
an actual pandemic or health emergency to exist before
the Secretary declares an emergency.
4) The legislation
gives drug companies immunity for harm caused by their misconduct.
The immunity
conferred on drug and vaccine manufacturers applies no matter what
the drug company did wrong. Even if a drug company operates
a dirty facility in which a batch of vaccines is contaminated, and
that vaccine kills thousands of Americans, the drug company is immune
from liability.
5) The legislation
gives drug companies an unreasonable level of immunity.
The language
explicitly protects drug companies, even if they can be shown to have acted
recklessly or negligently. An injured person's claim can go
forward only if it is proven that the action was
"willful" as to constitute criminal assault or murder. Anything
less than criminal conduct is protected!
Even if a drug
company can be shown to be responsible for "willful misconduct,",
the company is still immune unless the HHS Secretary or the Attorney
General initiates an enforcement action and that action is pending
at the time a claim is filed or the action resulted in some form of
punishment. So even if a drug company knowingly kills thousands
of people, if no official enforcement action is taken, that company
could still not be held accountable.
6) Vaccine safety
is compromised by this bill.
The declared
purpose of this legislation is to encourage rapid production of sufficient
doses of vaccine to inoculate most of the United States population.
The vaccine manufacturers and their cronies in Congress state that they
would refuse to produce new vaccines, (e.g., avian flu vaccine), unless
the legislation was enacted.
The legislation
would permit new vaccines to be rushed to market despite risks that
would otherwise cause a legally vulnerable manufacturer to exercise
caution. The tort system in America has historically been designed
to discourage the use of risky products. This legislation changes
all that.
7) The
legislation is unconstitutional.
The legislation
takes away the right to compensation, including the right to a jury
trial, for persons injured by a covered vaccine. The legislation contains
broad, unfettered delegation of legislative power to the executive
branch of government in violation of fundamental principles contained
in the U.S. Constitution and repeatedly affirmed by the U.S. Supreme
Court. |