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7345803
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Child Health Day, 1976 [Proclamation]
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7345803
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document
title
Child Health Day, 1976 [Proclamation]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7345803
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22
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1976-09-22
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9
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1976
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Digitized from Box 31 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 1976
Office of the White House Press Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
CHILD HEALTH DAY, 1976
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
In this year of our Bicentennial we have in many ways
expressed our pride in the heritage which our forebears
have bequeathed to us. But we are not solely heirs to
this great legacy; we are also trustees. Our responsibility
is to protect, preserve, and enhance it in anticipation of
the day when our children will assume responsibility for
the perpetuation of the ideals which have sustained this
republic for two centuries.
It is our task to insure that they are prepared for
that day. To that end, our concern for their health and
well-being cannot be overstated. Our concern is reflected
in our continuing efforts to reduce infant mortality,
eliminate childhood diseases and handicaps, and expand
preventive health services. The challenges of poliomyelitis,
measles, and rubella led to the development of vaccines.
Our resolution has been tested by the challenges of birth
abnormality, child abuse, and teenage alcoholism and drug
abuse.
We have learned of steps prospective mothers can take
during the prenatal period to lessen the likelihood their
children will suffer from the tragedy of mental retardation,
and we must assure that this vital information is available.
We must continue to explore those avenues of basic and
applied research necessary to assure that every child will
be born with the physical and mental capacity to participate
fully in our national life.
To encourage awareness of the fundamental necessity
of a year-round program for the protection and development
of the health of the Nation's children, the Congress, by
joint resolution of May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 143),
has requested the President to issue annually a proclamation
designating the first Monday in October as Child Health Day
and calling for its appropriate observance.
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2
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday,
October 4, 1976, as Child Health Day and I invite all
Americans, as well as all agencies and organizations
dedicated to the well-being of children, to unite on that
day in support of activities that will alert each of us to
our separate and collective responsibilities to protect
and enhance the health of America's children.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of September , in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and first.
GERALD R. FORD
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