00HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 31 am S                                                                                 
01 Relating to Alcohol-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week.                                                               
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 the latest research shows that children with fetal alcohol syndrome and                                        
04 fetal alcohol effects are often unable to live totally independent lives; and                                           
05  WHEREAS the 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 the Surgeon General has issued an advisory that pregnant women and                                             
12 women who plan to become pregnant should not consume alcohol; and                                                       
13  WHEREAS the division of alcohol and drug abuse, Department of Health and Social                                        
14 Services, will be conducting a statewide campaign designed to increase awareness of fetal                               
15 alcohol syndrome during the week of May 22 - 28, 1994;                                                                  
16  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                             
17 Governor to proclaim May 22 - 28, 1994, as Alcohol-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week,                                
18 and urges schools, health care organizations and practitioners, and other public and private                            
19 agencies and individuals observe the week with appropriate activities.                                                  
20  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the governing body of each school district,                                 
21 the State Medical Board, the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives, the Board of Nursing,                            
22 and the chief executive officer of each hospital and health clinic in the state.