Senate Resolution 23 - Introduced
PAG LIN
S.R. ________ H.R. ________
1 1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY COURTNEY
1 3 A Resolution recognizing May 2009 as Huntington's
1 4 Disease Awareness Month.
1 5 WHEREAS, Huntington's disease, first described in
1 6 1873, is a hereditary, progressive, neurodegenerative
1 7 disorder that gradually robs its victims of their
1 8 intellect, their emotional well=being, and their
1 9 control of movement; and
1 10 WHEREAS, the effects of Huntington's disease are
1 11 always tragic because as the disease progresses, its
1 12 victims suffer increasingly from such symptoms as
1 13 slurred speech, dementia, and writhing movements known
1 14 as chorea, and because victims in the later stages of
1 15 Huntington's disease invariably require total personal
1 16 care, and affected families often bear heavy financial
1 17 costs in addition to the heartache of watching the
1 18 health of a mother, father, sibling, or child slowly
1 19 deteriorate; and
1 20 WHEREAS, Huntington's disease affects males and
1 21 females equally and crosses all ethnic and racial
1 22 boundaries, and everyone who carries the gene will
1 23 develop the disease and will die; and
1 24 WHEREAS, the existence of this dreaded disease
1 25 presents a challenge to the love and humanitarianism
1 26 of the American people; and
1 27 WHEREAS, since the discovery of the genetic basis
1 28 for the disease in 1993, the pace of research into the
1 29 cause and nature of the disease has increased
1 30 dramatically; and
2 1 WHEREAS, the Huntington's Disease Society of
2 2 America, Inc., has supported this research, bringing
2 3 new hope to those who bear the burden of this tragic
2 4 affliction; NOW THEREFORE,
2 5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
2 6 recognizes the month of May 2009 as Huntington's
2 7 Disease Awareness Month in Iowa, and urges the
2 8 citizens of this state to lend their support to
2 9 efforts to control this disease so that the suffering
2 10 it induces may be eliminated.
2 11 LSB 2725SS 83
2 12 jr/rj/14