The ethics of Ebola quarantines

Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he's ready to use the "full extent" of his authority to protect the public from Ebola.

A nurse, Kaci Hickox, who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, is challenging Maine's requirement that people who have had contact with Ebola patients be isolated for 21 days after exposure. She says she has no symptoms and poses no risk to the public.

The Army is requiring a similar quarantine for soldiers returning from West Africa, but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that same protocol isn't necessary for civilians.

"The science would not back that up," Earnest said. "In fact, implementing this military policy in a civilian context would only have the effect of hindering our Ebola response by dissuading civilian doctors and nurses from traveling to West Africa to stop the outbreak in its tracks."

Bioethicist Jeff Kahn joins The Daily Circuit to talk about what policymakers are considering when confronted with citizens who have been near Ebola patients.