Legal Reasons Not To Wear a Face Mask
Brian Murphy, PhD
August 11, 2020
In the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic, there are many reasons not to wear a face mask. This document will focus on three reasons that could be presented in one’s defense in a court of law, if one is prosecuted for not wearing a face mask.
MEDICAL
No one can be legally required to wear a mask if it can be shown that the mask is harmful to the human body. While there are many studies listed at Mask Facts on this subject, we will cite two. The first is a study by Shuang Ye Tang et al (1) that conclusively shows that there are deleterious physiological effects from wearing a mask. In their study of 20 healthy pregnant women, volumes of oxygen consumption (VO2) and carbon dioxide expired (VCO2) were also significantly reduced; VO2 by 13.8 % (95 % CI −24.2 % to −3 %, p=0.013) and VCO2 by 17.7 %, (95 % CI −28.1 % to −8.6 %, p=0.001). The authors state: “…these results suggest an increased consumption of O2 and production of CO2, leading to possible concerns regarding prolonged usage of N95-masks on respiratory functions in pregnant women performing physical work.” “our results suggest that performing physical work with the N95-mask appears to stress the aerobic metabolism and increase the CO2 load within the circulation.”The increase in VCO2 of 17.7% found by Shuang et al can be considered very clinically significant when viewed alongside the results of a study by Satish et al. Student volunteers enlisted by Satish et al (2) engaged in the game-like simulation, working at desks in a chamber sealed tightly with a door like that on a refrigerator. Over three short trials, they breathed air containing 600, 1,000 and 2,500 ppm of carbon dioxide. Indoor air experts generally don’t consider carbon dioxide to be a health problem unless breathed at levels far higher, at which point it causes respiration changes. There were “moderate” declines in decision making performance at 1,000 ppm compared to 600 ppm. At 2,500 ppm (0.25%), the drop in mental capacity was “astonishingly large.”
Medical Summary
A drop of 17.7% in CO2 production means that CO2 is being retained by the body where it can have a toxic effect on the brain. While we do not know how much of an increase in CO2 retention would occur with an increase of inspired concentration to 0.25%, the results suggest that the human body is very susceptible to such an increase, which is what happens with a mask. In conclusion, it would be government tyranny to force one to wear a mask in view of the potential negative medical consequences.1. Pearl Shuang Ye Tong, Anita Sugam Kale, Kailyn Ng, Amelia Peiwen Loke, Mahesh Arjandas Choolani, Chin Leong Lim, Yiong Huak Chan, Yap Seng Chong, Paul Anantharajah Tambyah, and Eu-Leong Yong
Respiratory consequences of N95-type Mask usage in pregnant healthcare workers—a controlled clinical study. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2015; 4: 48. Published online 2015 Nov 16. doi: 10.1186/s13756-015-0086-z PMCID: PMC4647822 PMID: 26579222
2. Usha Satish, Mark J. Mendell, Krishnamurthy Shekhar, Toshifumi Hotchi, Douglas Sullivan, Siegfried Streufert, and William J. Fisk
Is CO2 an Indoor Pollutant? Direct Effects of Low-to-Moderate CO2 Concentrations on Human Decision-Making Performance. Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Dec; 120(12): 1671–1677. Published online 2012 Sep 20. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1104789 PMCID: PMC3548274 PMID: 23008272 Research
CONSTITUTIONAL
The Constitution says that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law. Therefore, if one experiences that a face mask is physically unpleasant, causes dyspnea or intrudes into one’s life by making it difficult to be recognized by other people or difficult for others to decipher one’s muffled speech, one should not be forced to wear it; nor should one’s liberty be deprived in making that decision.
RELIGIOUS
Here we do not invoke the teachings and decisions made by religious authorities who for the most part have succumbed to the mask hysteria. Rather, we invoke the faith of individual Christians, many of whom find the mask highly dehumanizing. Furthermore, the long held prayer of the faithful has been, “Lord let your face shine upon us,” Num. 6:25, Dn. 9:17, Ps. 31:17, Ps. 67:2, Ps. 80:4, Ps. 119:135. Therefore, they find it immensely hypocritical that one could ask the Lord Most High to let His face shine upon us while not letting their own face shine upon the Lord. They worship the Lord without a mask, not just during prayer but in all activities and things done under the watchful eye of the Lord throughout each day. This personal religious practice is a legal right that should never be taken away.
For an excellent more detailed theological explanation against face masks, see "All We, With Face Unveiled”: Masking Christian Worship