Section 14-1-102 - [Expired] FindingsThe general assembly finds that:
(1) Setting forth the rights of people in the context of COVID-19 restrictions in a statute assists the citizens of this state in the enforcement and protection of their rights and creates a safe harbor for those desiring to avoid litigation;(2) Tennessee, as a great southern state within our federal system of government, is free to enact laws to protect the health and safety of its citizens under the police powers inherent to all states of a federal system of government;(3) The United States Constitution does not prohibit the states from regulating health and medical practices, nor does it require any person to consent to any form of medical treatment, directly or indirectly, in relation to COVID-19;(4) The right at common law to personal security and the liberty to be free from an unwanted touching of one's limbs and body was retained by the people of this state, and that right includes rights and duties with respect to medical treatment administered by other persons, such as through COVID-19 vaccinations;(5) Informed consent between patients and healthcare practitioners protects the rights at common law of persons and all such consent must be voluntary and not given under duress, coercion, misrepresentation, or fraud; and(6) Consistent with our constitutionally recognized and inalienable right of liberty, every person within this state is and must remain free to choose or to decline to be vaccinated against COVID-19 without penalty or threat of penalty.Added by 2021EX3 Tenn. Acts, ch. 6, s 1, eff. 11/12/2021.