00CS FOR SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 15(RLS)                                                                       
01 Relating to Alcohol-Related Birth Defects Awareness Weeks.                                                              
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
03  WHEREAS fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects, which are birth defects                                    
04 related to alcohol consumption by pregnant women, can be prevented if pregnant women and                                
05 women who plan to become pregnant abstain from alcohol consumption; and                                                 
06      WHEREAS fetal alcohol syndrome results in permanent growth retardation, physical                                 
07 malformations, and permanent central nervous system damage, including developmental                                     
08 delays, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems, and is most often accompanied by                                
09 mental retardation; and                                                                                                 
10      WHEREAS pregnant women who consume alcohol also risk having children with fetal                                  
11 alcohol effects, which most often include permanent developmental delays, learning                                      
12 disabilities, and behavioral problems; and                                                                              
13  WHEREAS fetal alcohol syndrome is the number one identifiable cause in the United                                    
14 States of birth defects accompanied by mental retardation and the only preventable one; and                             

01      WHEREAS alcohol-related birth defects have only recently been discovered to be a                                 
02 major health problem, and many questions regarding them remain unanswered; and                                          
03      WHEREAS research shows that children with fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol                               
04 effects are often unable to live totally independent lives; and                                                         
05      WHEREAS research has also shown that additional children of a woman who has                                      
06 previously given birth to a child with an alcohol-related birth defect are most often born with                         
07 alcohol-related birth defects in successively severe degrees if the woman continues to drink                            
08 during her pregnancies; and                                                                                             
09      WHEREAS, without exception, mothers of infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome                                  
10 consumed alcohol during pregnancy; and                                                                                  
11  WHEREAS, in the case of substance-abusing women of childbearing age, treatment                                       
12 before conception is an effective method of preventing alcohol-related and other drug-related                           
13 birth defects; and                                                                                                      
14      WHEREAS the Surgeon General has issued an advisory that pregnant women and                                       
15 women who plan to become pregnant should not consume alcohol; and                                                       
16  WHEREAS the division of alcohol and drug abuse, Department of Health and Social                                      
17 Services, will be conducting a campaign designed to increase awareness of fetal alcohol                                 
18 syndrome during the week of May 14 - 20, 2000; and                                                                      
19  WHEREAS the legislature recognizes that the sobriety of fathers is also important to                                 
20 the well-being of their children and the healthy functioning of their families; and                                     
21  WHEREAS the legislature wishes to acknowledge RurAL CAP's statewide activities                                       
22 against irresponsible use of alcohol during pregnancy;                                                                  
23  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                           
24 Governor to proclaim both the week of Mother's Day, May 14 - 20, 2000, and the week of                                  
25 Father's Day, June 18 - 24, 2000, as Alcohol-Related Birth Defects Awareness Weeks and                                  
26 urges schools, health care organizations and practitioners, and other public and private                                
27 agencies and individuals observe the weeks with appropriate activities.                                                 
28  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the governing body of each school district,                               
29 the State Medical Board, the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives, the Board of Nursing,                            
30 RurAL CAP, and the chief executive officer of each hospital and health clinic in the state.