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 

ion of this dopar 

requesting the oplnbjeot reads aa follovar 

18 opemtlng 

are hospital 

treatment of 

ge of a venereal 

looated rt El Paso, 

and Corpus Chrletl 

ed on the aoooqmyote, 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 infeotlour #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 tranaported 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 authorit of the State Health Offloor to remove auoh Infected 

person from this hate to mother state Zor treetment or to 

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 referred to in Tour letter, ve hve fall& to find any law that 

vould p-rent a person under quaxmtlno in Tuxna la the infeotloua 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 

alt.wtlon. Our search has failed to reran1 a statute or 8 

oonatltutlonal pro~lalon vhloh rould authorize the deportation 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 almoat 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 deporting 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