SJ0035 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0035 LRB094 11851 HSS 44224 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, According to a 1996 study by the Centers of Disease Control, 16% of over 6,000,000 pregnancies ended in either a miscarriage or stillbirth, which is almost 1,000,000 perinatal losses; and

WHEREAS, Of those over six million pregnancies, 62%, or 3,720,000, ended in live births, and 26,784 of those births ended in deaths of infants 11 months and younger; and

WHEREAS, The availability of information and support is of the utmost importance to the families who suffer from pregnancy and infant loss to better help them cope; and

WHEREAS, A public that is informed and educated about pregnancy and infant loss can better learn how to respond with compassion to affected families; and

WHEREAS, Professionals who come in contact with families who have suffered pregnancy or infant loss, such as physicians, clergy, emergency medical technicians, funeral directors, police officers, public health nurses, and employers, can better serve families if they have special training and better knowledge of pregnancy and infant loss; and

WHEREAS, If a Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is created to recognize the grief of the families and to remember all of the pregnancies and infants lost, it will help to heal and comfort the families in a time of pain and heartache and give the families hope for the future; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that October 15, 2005, be named as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day to recognize the grief of the families and to remember all of the pregnancies and infants lost, to help to heal and comfort the families in a time of pain and heartache, and to give the families hope for the future.