The possibility of Ebola breakouts in major American cities raises difficult questions of public health, public safety, and civil liberties. So it is no great surprise that states’ efforts to quarantine persons exposed to the decision would be met with threats of federal lawsuits. More interesting, however, is the appearance of one particular organization as a critic of the quarantine: the American Civil Liberties Union.

Specifically, the ACLU’s New Jersey chapter has challenged Governor Christie to justify the state’s quarantine, arguing that “coercive measures like mandatory quarantine of people exhibiting no symptoms of Ebola and when not medically necessary raise serious constitutional concerns about the state abusing its powers.”