Kaci Hickox — the nurse who faced an involuntary quarantine in New Jersey a year ago after treating Ebola patients in West Africa — is suing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and health officials in that state.
The lawsuit charges that the state held Hickox illegally and unconstitutionally against her will as part of a mandatory quarantine for anyone returning from certain West African countries who treated patients with Ebola. It also claims that officials relied on fear rather than science to justify Hickox's confinement.
Hickox is represented by two New York law firms and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
"Ebola is a public health issue and the government's response should be guided by science and facts, yet Gov. Christie's response was guided by fear and politics," says Udi Ofer, the ACLU's executive director.
After Hickox was released from New Jersey, she returned to her home in Fort Kent and successfully battled a Maine policy of home quarantine. Hickox now resides in Oregon.
