PRINTER'S NO. 3158
No. 267 Session of 1992
INTRODUCED BY GEIST, MURPHY, BELARDI, FARGO, LAWLESS, SEMMEL,
LEH, ANGSTADT, PETRARCA, COHEN, NAHILL, TIGUE, KENNEY,
CAWLEY, HAYES, COY, SCHULER, DEMPSEY, PESCI, KOSINSKI, OLASZ,
STURLA, CALTAGIRONE, CORRIGAN, STISH, BISHOP, MICOZZIE,
HARPER, LESCOVITZ, STABACK, DALEY, LANGTRY, VEON, HARLEY,
FAJT, CAPPABIANCA, MARSICO, ARNOLD, CIVERA, RUDY, PISTELLA,
ARMSTRONG, JOSEPHS, LAUGHLIN, BATTISTO, TOMLINSON, BELFANTI,
PRESTON, MIHALICH, HESS, GIGLIOTTI, TRELLO, CARLSON,
J. TAYLOR, COLAIZZO, KASUNIC, FLEAGLE AND KING, MARCH 9, 1992
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 9, 1992
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Designating May 1992 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness
2 Month" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Over 300,000 people alive today will eventually die
4 from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as "Lou
5 Gehrig's Disease," which affects the motor-neuron system of the
6 human body; and
7 WHEREAS, At least 5,000 people will be diagnosed this year as
8 having ALS, or an average of 13 cases per day; and
9 WHEREAS, There is still no known cause or cure for ALS
10 despite the fact that the disease was discovered in 1869; and
11 WHEREAS, Victims of this disease may lose total movement of
12 their arms, legs, fingers and toes, as well as the ability to
13 speak, swallow or breathe; and
14 WHEREAS, ALS patients have an average life expectancy of
1 between two and five years after the initial diagnosis is made;
2 and
3 WHEREAS, Wheelchairs, respirators and feeding tubes are often
4 necessary to assist those who outlive the average life
5 expectancy; and
6 WHEREAS, The National Institutes of Health have found that
7 victims of ALS are increasingly younger, with many in their
8 twenties and thirties, and some mere teenagers; and
9 WHEREAS, ALS strikes people regardless of race, sex, age or
10 ethnicity; and
11 WHEREAS, The number of male victims of ALS under 50 years of
12 age equals the number of female victims, but over 50 years of
13 age, male victims outnumber female victims by a ratio of 3 to 1;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Finding the cause of, and a cure for, ALS will
16 prevent the disease from robbing hundreds of thousands of
17 Americans of their dignity and lives; and
18 WHEREAS, 1992 marks the 51st Anniversary of the death of one
19 of America's greatest baseball players, Lou Gehrig, for whom the
20 disease was named; and
21 WHEREAS, Raising public awareness of this disease will
22 facilitate the discovery of a cure; therefore be it
23 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
24 designate May 1992 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness
25 Month" in Pennsylvania and call upon the citizens of this
26 Commonwealth to observe the month with appropriate programs and
27 activities.
B11L82WMB/19920H0267R3158 - 2 -