Designating "National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day"

DESIGNATING ``NATIONAL FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS AWARENESS DAY'' -- (Senate - July 12, 2006)

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration, and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 499.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the resolution by title.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

A resolution (S. Res. 499) designating September 9, 2006, as ``National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day.''

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, in June of this year, parents of children afflicted with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and their advocates traveled to our Nation's Capital for the annual FASD Hill Day. FASD Hill Day is sponsored by the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and organizations that support those who care for FASD children in our States and communities.

Nobody knows better than a parent of a child afflicted with FASD how challenging it is to raise a child who was exposed to alcohol before birth. Nobody knows better the physical, mental, behavioral and learning disabilities that can have lifelong implications. I hope that my colleagues had the opportunity to meet with the parents and advocates who participated in FASD Hill Day because they had a very important story to tell. I am sure their stories moved you, as they did me.

At the conclusion of FASD Hill Day, the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome hosted its annual Leadership Awards Benefit Reception, which was attended by the parents and advocates, as well as the children. I am pleased to inform my colleagues that the distinguished Senator from North Dakota, Mr. Dorgan, received the 2006 Leadership Award at the benefit reception. As a Senator who represents a State with one of the highest incidence rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, I appreciate the leadership of Mr. Dorgan and the support of all our colleagues, in the crusade to eradicate FASD.

The term ``fetal alcohol spectrum disorders'' was coined by experts as an umbrella term to describe the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. It refers to conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol effects, alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder and alcohol-related birth defects.

The only cause of FASD is alcohol use during pregancy. When a pregnant woman drinks, the alcohol crosses the placenta into the fetal blood system, reaching the fetus, its developing tissues, and organs. This is how brain damage occurs, which in turn can lead to mental retardation, social and emotional problems, learning disabilities and other problems. It will shock my
colleagues to know that FASD is the leading cause of mental retardation in all of Western civilization, including the United States.

By abstaining from the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy a woman can be 100 percent certain that her baby will not be born with any of the conditions regarded as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Every day of the year we must remind women that no amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy is safe for their baby. No alcohol during pregnancy is safe. None at all.

To dramatize this point, a group of parents raising children afflicted with FASD came together on the Internet and wondered in cyberspace, ``What if a world full of FASD parents came together on the 9th hour of the 9th day of the 9th month of the year and asked the world to remember that during the 9 months of pregnancy a woman should not consume alcohol?'' If this were to occur, they wondered, ``Would the world listen?''

These pioneering activists, many of whom were adoptive and foster parents, organized the first International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day, which was observed on September 9, 1999. On the 9th hour of the 9th day of the 9th month every year they call upon all the peoples of this Nation, and all the peoples of this world, to observe a moment of silence to remind women of childbearing age that no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. Their group continues to grow, including more than 70 volunteer coordinators in eight countries. Through this grassroots awareness effort, many women of childbearing age are learning that no amount of alcohol during pregnancy is safe.

On September 9, 2004, for the first time, the moment of silence was observed on the Senate floor. It is my hope that the Senate honor this moment every year until fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are eradicated.

The resolution that I have introduced, S. Res. 499, designates September 9, 2006, as National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Awareness Day. I thank my colleagues for their consideration and support of this resolution, which is so very important to the millions of Americans who are touched by FASD.

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