•HRES 747 IH 
Whereas, as many as 50,000 to 100,000 new cases occur 
each year; 
Whereas historically, obstetric fistula affected women in the 
United States and around the world and advances in ob-
stetric care and access to improved surgical techniques 
resulted in a drastic reduction in obstetric fistula by the 
early 20th century in the United States; 
Whereas today, obstetric fistula primarily affects the poorest 
women in the poorest parts of the world; 
Whereas obstetric fistula disproportionately affects women in 
sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and girls, some as young as 
13 years old, who are subjected to child marriage and 
whose bodies are not fully capable of handling the de-
mands of childbirth; 
Whereas obstetric fistula, which usually results in fetal death 
by asphyxia, occurs when the tissues that normally sepa-
rate a woman’s vagina from her bladder or rectum are 
destroyed by lack of oxygenated blood getting to the tis-
sue in the pelvic floor and prolonged pressure from the 
fetal head trapped in the birth canal; 
Whereas obstetric fistula typically occurs due to a breakdown 
in health systems, namely when a woman does not have 
access to high-quality, comprehensive health services, 
emergency obstetric care or because she does not have 
the financial means, transportation, or access to surgical 
repair; 
Whereas left untreated, an obstetric fistula afflicts a woman 
with devastating physical conditions, including inconti-
nence, painful ulcers, and constant and uncontrollable 
emission of offensive odors; 
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•HRES 747 IH 
Whereas these symptoms leave a woman indelibly and perpet-
ually stigmatized by her condition; 
Whereas because obstetric fistula does not heal on its own, 
women affected by this condition are marginalized for the 
remainder of their lives; 
Whereas expelled from their communities and denied edu-
cation and health care, obstetric fistula victims are left 
in desperate economic circumstances; 
Whereas victims also suffer social ostracism that results in 
involuntary divorce, exclusion from religious activities, 
deepening poverty, malnutrition, deteriorating physical 
health, depression, and despair; 
Whereas, as a result, victims are left defenseless and vulner-
able; 
Whereas this social isolation compounds already existing 
problems such as illiteracy and lack of economic opportu-
nities; 
Whereas because obstetric fistulas are not themselves fatal, 
millions of women live with this horrific condition and 
have been overlooked by the international medical com-
munity; 
Whereas obstetric fistula can be prevented when health sys-
tems function as they should, namely, women and their 
families are educated about the birthing process and are 
provided access to emergency obstetric care; 
Whereas today, doctors can surgically repair obstetric fistula 
with a low-cost, low-technology surgery; 
Whereas the impact of an obstetric fistula-repair surgery is 
immediate and consequential; 
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•HRES 747 IH 
Whereas women can be reintegrated into society and are af-
forded basic human necessities such as familial relation-
ships, health care, and the opportunity to earn a living; 
Whereas the prevention, treatment, and ultimately the eradi-
cation of obstetric fistula will advance the emancipation 
and empowerment of women, strengthen families and 
communities, and improve the overall economic, edu-
cational, and social well-being of affected societies; 
Whereas basic interventions to identify and repair obstetric 
fistula have achieved meaningful and cost-effective re-
sults; and 
Whereas the nature of obstetric fistula, and the fact that it 
affects vulnerable women in poor and isolated commu-
nities which offer little or no access to obstetric care, de-
mands a comprehensive, coordinated, long-term, inter-
national response focused on the prevention and treat-
ment of obstetric fistula: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 
the goals and ideals of the ‘‘International Day to End Ob-
stetric Fistula’’ to significantly raise awareness and inten-
sify actions towards ending obstetric fistula. 
Æ 
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