A COORDINATED EFFORT AGAINST BIRTH DEFECTS

Missouri's other U.S. senator, Christopher Bond, is concerned that 150,000 infants are born each year in the United States with birth defects, and one out of every five infant deaths is the result of birth defects.

These are startling statistics, given the successful breakthroughs in modern medicine. It is equally as startling to realize that the government has never had a coordinated effort to reduce birth defects.

Many Americans, particularly in the Baby Boomer generation, can recall the milk bottles that businesses used to display near cash registers in the 1950s. Patrons were asked to contribute dimes to be used for fighting polio. As a result, a vaccine was discovered that prevented polio, and a scourge that left thousands crippled was suddenly whipped.

Bond has introduced legislation that would take this same sort of determined approach to birth defects. His bill would pave the way for a comprehensive national strategy to fight birth defects.

The effort comes as good news to the various agencies that have been working for years to reduce birth defects. Bond's legislation would provide the mechanism and the incentive for the groups to join forces.