Office of the Governor

PROCLAMANTION

*FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY*

WHEREAS, healthy children are the most important resource in the great State of Arizona; and

WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading cause of mental retardation in Arizona, the United States, and all of western civilization; and

WHEREAS, as many as 1 in every 100 individuals in these United States may be adversely affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol; and

WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Effects are a root cause of numerous social disorders, including learning disabilities, juvenile delinquency, school drop-outs, homelessness, unemployment, mental illness, and crime; and

WHEREAS, economists estimate that each individual with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Effects will cost the U.S. taxpayer nearly two million dollars in his or her lifetime; and

WHEREAS, people around the world will be observing the first International FAS Day on September 9, 1999, in order that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jane Dee Hull, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim September 9, 1999 as

*FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY*

in Arizona, to promote awareness of the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, to increase compassion for those individuals so affected, to minimize further effects, to ensure healthier communities across Arizona in the future.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona

_______________________________________________
Jane Dee Hull
GOVERNOR

DONE at the Capitol in Phoenix on this _______ day of _____________ in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-nine.

ATTTEST:

_______________________________________________
Betsey Bayless
Secretary of State