On May 12, the Senate approved, by voice vote, a resolution (S. Res. 141) designating September 9, 2005, as “National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day.”
Sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:
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Stressing the danger of consuming alcohol during pregnancy, Sen. Murkowski stated, “When a pregnant woman drinks, the alcohol crosses the placenta into the fetal blood system. Thus, alcohol reaches 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…Since the only cause of FASD [fetal alcohol spectrum disorders] is prenatal alcohol consumption it follows that by abstaining from the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy a woman can completely foreclose the possibility that her baby will be born with one or another of the conditions that are regarded 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.”
Sen. Murkowski explained that she asked the Senate leadership to consider the resolution in May to coincide with the second annual FASD Hill Day on May 18.