Full Text of HJR0144 95th General Assembly
HJ0144 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HJ0144 |
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LRB095 22816 GRL 53603 r |
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly wish | 3 |
| to recognize the dedication and efforts of the March of Dimes | 4 |
| Illinois Chapter and its volunteers, who have been fighting for | 5 |
| the health and well-being of America's children for over 67 | 6 |
| years, and who are now taking on the problem of premature | 7 |
| births; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly recognizes that | 9 |
| prematurity is the leading cause of death among babies from | 10 |
| birth to one year old in the United States; and
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| WHEREAS, Babies who survive a premature birth often face | 12 |
| the risk of serious life-long health problems, including | 13 |
| learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing | 14 |
| loss, and other chronic conditions, including asthma; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Prematurity costs Illinois families and | 16 |
| communities millions of dollars each year in care and | 17 |
| treatment; and
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| WHEREAS, Sadly, the number of premature births has risen | 19 |
| approximately 27 percent over the last 2 decades; today, more | 20 |
| than 530,000 babies are prematurely born in the United States | 21 |
| each year, which costs the nation more than $26 billion a year; |
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HJ0144 |
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LRB095 22816 GRL 53603 r |
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| and
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| WHEREAS, There are more than 23,000 premature births in the | 3 |
| State of Illinois, or approximately one in every 8 births; | 4 |
| prematurity is clearly a significant and alarming problem; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, In response to this problem, the March of Dimes is | 6 |
| leading a national campaign to save babies from premature birth | 7 |
| by funding research to find the causes of prematurity and by | 8 |
| aiding local programs that that provide assistance to families | 9 |
| with babies that are born premature; and
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| WHEREAS, As part of the national campaign against premature | 11 |
| birth, the March of Dimes is working to enhance awareness of | 12 |
| smoking cessation as a vital part of maternity care; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, In November of 2008, the March of Dimes will | 14 |
| coordinate activities throughout the country with help from | 15 |
| many local healthcare professionals and government agencies | 16 |
| and departments to call attention to premature birth and to | 17 |
| offer hope to families affected by it; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 20 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we proclaim the month of | 21 |
| November to be Premature Birth Awareness Month in the State of |
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HJ0144 |
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LRB095 22816 GRL 53603 r |
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| Illinois and encourage all citizens to be cognizant of the | 2 |
| outstanding life-saving services provided to the people of | 3 |
| Illinois by the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter; and be it | 4 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the Illinois General Assembly finds it | 6 |
| important to improve access to health coverage for women of | 7 |
| childbearing age, to support smoking cessation programs as part | 8 |
| of maternity care, and to seek the implementation of policies | 9 |
| to reduce premature births, including calling upon hospitals | 10 |
| and health care professionals to voluntarily assess c-sections | 11 |
| and inductions which occur prior to 39 weeks gestation and | 12 |
| working with the business community to create environments | 13 |
| supportive of maternal and infant health; and be it further | 14 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 |
| presented to the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter as an | 16 |
| expression of our extreme gratitude.
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