00Enrolled SCR 7                                                                                                          
01 Proclaiming September 9, 2011, as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day.                                       
02                                        _______________                                                                  
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
04      WHEREAS fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a leading cause of preventable and                                  
05 permanent birth defects and mental retardation in the United States; and                                                
06      WHEREAS the birth defects associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders include                               
07 brain damage, facial deformities, and deficits in growth, learning, memory, and internal organ                          
08 development; and                                                                                                        
09      WHEREAS fetal alcohol spectrum disorders result from ingestion of alcohol by a                                   
10 woman during pregnancy; and                                                                                             
11      WHEREAS Alaska has the highest known incidence of fetal alcohol spectrum                                         
12 disorders in the United States; and                                                                                     
13      WHEREAS fetal alcohol spectrum disorders affect all racial and socioeconomic                                     
14 groups; and                                                                                                             
15      WHEREAS, in addition to the personal emotional costs, fetal alcohol spectrum                                   
16 disorders cost taxpayers millions of dollars over an affected individual's lifetime;                                    
17      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims September 9, 2011,                                    

01 as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day; and be it                                                            
02      FURTHER RESOLVED that the people of the state observe Fetal Alcohol Spectrum                                     
03 Disorders Awareness Day with appropriate efforts to promote awareness of the effects of                                 
04 prenatal exposure to alcohol and of the fact that there is no known safe level of alcohol                               
05 consumption during pregnancy, to increase identification of children with fetal alcohol                                 
06 spectrum disorders, and to improve the lives of those affected by fetal alcohol spectrum                                
07 disorders.