Proclamation 5889 --
National Lupus Awareness Month, 1988
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
This
year, we again set aside the month of October to mark our great concern for the
thousands of Americans who suffer from lupus. An immune system disorder of
unknown cause, lupus in its systemic form may affect the joints, skin, and one
or more internal organs, such as the kidney, heart, and brain.
Lupus
is a chronic disease in which there is always the potential threat of serious
illness and disability. The disease can occur in men, but women in their
childbearing years are the majority of its victims. Minorities, especially
blacks, are particularly vulnerable; lupus is three times more prevalent in
black women than in white women.
Ordinarily,
the immune system protects against infection by producing antibodies that
successfully combat foreign substances. In people with lupus, the immune system
produces abnormal antibodies that react harmfully against the individual's own
tissues.
To
combat lupus, we need new research findings and new approaches to diagnosis and
treatment. Scientists in biology, biochemistry, immunology, genetics, and other
fields are seeking to understand its causes and disease processes to develop
better means of detection, treatment, and prevention. If this work is to
continue, and if we are to take advantage of the knowledge we have already
gained, public awareness of lupus and of the importance of continuing
scientific research on this disease is critical. The Federal Government and
private health organizations are working together to promote awareness of lupus
and research on it. This collaboration ultimately will conquer this significant
public health problem.
The
Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 303, has designated the month of October
1988 as ``National Lupus Awareness Month'' and authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation in observance of the event.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of October,
in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,