PRINTER'S NO. 3388
No. 588 Session of 2004
INTRODUCED BY HARRIS, ARGALL, ARMSTRONG, BAKER, BALDWIN,
BASTIAN, BEBKO-JONES, BENNINGHOFF, BROWNE, BUNT, CAUSER,
CLYMER, COLEMAN, COSTA, CREIGHTON, CRUZ, DALEY, DENLINGER,
DONATUCCI, J. EVANS, FAIRCHILD, FORCIER, FRANKEL, GABIG,
GEIST, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOOD, GOODMAN, GRUCELA,
HARHAI, HERMAN, HERSHEY, HESS, HORSEY, HUTCHINSON, KELLER,
KILLION, KIRKLAND, LAUGHLIN, LEACH, LEDERER, LESCOVITZ,
MAJOR, MARKOSEK, MARSICO, McCALL, McGILL, McILHINNEY,
MILLARD, S. MILLER, MUSTIO, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PAYNE, PICKETT,
PISTELLA, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROHRER, ROSS, RUBLEY, SAINATO,
SATHER, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SCRIMENTI, SHANER, B. SMITH,
SOLOBAY, E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE, TRUE, WEBER,
WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND ZUG, MARCH 15, 2004
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MARCH 15, 2004
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating September 2, 2004, as "Scleroderma Awareness Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, More than 300,000 people in the United States suffer
4 from scleroderma; and
5 WHEREAS, For persons with scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune
6 disease affecting connective tissue, the body's wound-healing
7 process for unknown reasons produces scarring that has the
8 potential to disfigure, debilitate or cause severe damage to
9 organs; and
10 WHEREAS, Residents of this Commonwealth have died from
11 complications of scleroderma; and
12 WHEREAS, Residents of this Commonwealth have been diagnosed
1 and are living with the disability and pain caused by
2 scleroderma; and
3 WHEREAS, Women are three to four times more likely to get
4 scleroderma than men; and
5 WHEREAS, Scleroderma generally strikes young adults aged 20
6 through 40, attacking in the prime of life; and
7 WHEREAS, Many persons with scleroderma experience tremendous
8 suffering and pain, disability and sometimes death, and the
9 fundamental cause and cure remain unknown; and
10 WHEREAS, Due to the inherent difficulty of diagnosing
11 scleroderma because of its similarity to other diseases and
12 generally poor clinical awareness, many persons suffer
13 impairment and disabilities before diagnosis; and
14 WHEREAS, Scleroderma research has for decades suffered from
15 low funding and a poor basic science platform from which to
16 identify opportunities for progress; and
17 WHEREAS, Finding the cause of scleroderma and developing
18 prevention, clinical and public awareness and early diagnosis
19 are important tasks that all Americans and residents of this
20 Commonwealth should support; therefore be it
21 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, recognizing the
22 importance of finding the cause and cure for scleroderma,
23 designate September 2, 2004, as "Scleroderma Awareness Day" in
24 Pennsylvania.
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