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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives of the State of Illinois wish to recognize the | ||||||
| 4 | dedication and efforts of the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter | ||||||
| 5 | and its volunteers, who have been fighting for the health and | ||||||
| 6 | well-being of America's children for over 67 years, and who are | ||||||
| 7 | now taking on the problem of premature births; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives recognizes | ||||||
| 9 | that prematurity is the leading cause of death among babies | ||||||
| 10 | from birth to one year old in the United States; those babies | ||||||
| 11 | that survive are susceptible to life-long disabilities, such as | ||||||
| 12 | chronic lung disease, blindness, and cerebral palsy; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Prematurity costs Illinois families and | ||||||
| 14 | communities millions of dollars each year in care and | ||||||
| 15 | treatment; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Sadly, the number of premature births has risen | ||||||
| 17 | approximately 27 percent over the last 2 decades; today, nearly | ||||||
| 18 | 500,000 babies are prematurely born in the United States each | ||||||
| 19 | year; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, There are more than 23,000 premature births in the | ||||||
| 21 | State of Illinois, or approximately one in every 8 births; | ||||||
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| 1 | prematurity is clearly a significant and alarming problem; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, In response to this problem, the March of Dimes is | ||||||
| 3 | leading a national campaign to save babies from premature birth | ||||||
| 4 | by funding research to find the causes of prematurity and by | ||||||
| 5 | aiding local programs that that provide assistance to families | ||||||
| 6 | with babies that are born premature; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, In November of 2007, the March of Dimes will | ||||||
| 8 | coordinate activities throughout the country with help from | ||||||
| 9 | many local healthcare professionals and government agencies | ||||||
| 10 | and departments to call attention to premature birth and to | ||||||
| 11 | offer hope to families affected by it; therefore, be it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 13 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 14 | proclaim November 13, 2007 to be Premature Birth Awareness Day | ||||||
| 15 | in the State of Illinois and encourage all citizens to be | ||||||
| 16 | cognizant of the outstanding life-saving services provided to | ||||||
| 17 | the people of Illinois by the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter; | ||||||
| 18 | and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter as an | ||||||
| 21 | expression of our extreme gratitude.
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