Legal historian John Fabian Witt discusses new book on epidemics and law
“If the past is a guide, how our law responds to contagion now and in the future will help decide the course of our democracy.” —John Fabian Witt, American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19 At this writing, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 570,000 Americans and infected about 32 million. The United States has the highest death toll in the world, and the death rates here betray stunning inequities for people of color, among other vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. The experience of this novel pandemic in the past year has fueled questions about the role of the federal and state governments in addressing epidemics; the importance of public health versus individual freedoms; the inequities in access to health care and more.