FIRST REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 20
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
AN ACT
Relating to the designation of October fifteenth as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Whereas, according to a 1996 study by the Centers for Disease Control, 16% of six million-plus pregnancies ended in either a miscarriage or a stillbirth, or almost a million perinatal losses. Of those six million-plus pregnancies, 62% (3,720,000) ended in live births, and 26,784 of those births ended in infant deaths from eleven months and younger. This does not reflect the 22% who are lost to abortion; and
Whereas, the availability of information and support is of the utmost importance to 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 affect 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, a Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day on October fifteenth is set aside to remember all of the pregnancies and infants lost in order to heal and be comforted in a time of pain and heartache, and to have hope for the future:
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-third General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby proclaim October fifteenth of each year as "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day"; and
Be it further resolved that this resolution be sent to the Governor for his approval or rejection pursuant to the Missouri Constitution.