Res. No. 1189

Resolution expressing the Council’s support for the “Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2007” (H.R. 2349 and S. 1275), which would provide funding for research and education with respect to uterine fibroids.

By Council Members James, Brewer, Comrie, Fidler, Foster, Gentile, Gerson, Koppell, Nelson, Palma, Seabrook, Sears, White Jr. and Jackson

                     Whereas, According to the National Uterine Fibroids Foundation (NUFF), uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors found in the uterus of up to 80% of all women; and

Whereas, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finds that women of childbearing age are most at risk for fibroids, with those who are overweight or obese at a slightly higher risk, and that African American women are also more likely to get them, and at a younger age, than women of other racial groups; and

                     Whereas, Approximately 1 in 4 women with uterine fibroids have symptoms severe enough to require treatment, according to NUFF; and

                     Whereas, Symptoms of uterine fibroids can include heavy bleeding or painful periods, pelvic pressure, frequent urination, lower back pain and reproductive problems, such as infertility, miscarriage or experiencing early onset of labor during pregnancy; and

                     Whereas, Most treatments for symptomatic uterine fibroids, other than a few drugs that can decrease the size of the fibroids, are surgical in nature and impair a woman’s ability to have children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and

                     Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), uterine fibroid tumors are one of the three conditions most often associated with hysterectomy; and

Whereas, The CDC also finds that after cesarean section, hysterectomy is the second most frequently performed major surgical procedure for women of reproductive age in the United States, with approximately 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually; and

                     Whereas, According to NUFF, for every 10,000 hysterectomies performed, 11 women die; and

Whereas, NUFF statistics also reveal that over 5 billion dollars are spent annually on hysterectomies, and the average time off from work to recover from a hysterectomy is 6 weeks, resulting in millions of lost work hours; and

Whereas, The “Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2007” (H.R. 2349 and S. 1275), has been introduced in the United States Congress, by Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio, to increase research, education and dissemination of information on uterine fibroids; and

Whereas, Specifically, this bill would authorize $30 million in Federal funding each year for 5 years for uterine fibroid research coordinated by the National Institutes of Health, and would also require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on uterine fibroids to the public and to health care providers; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York expresses its support for the “Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2007” (H.R. 2349 and S. 1275), which would provide funding for research and education with respect to uterine fibroids.

LS#4153

JA

12/14/07 12:25pm