IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 595 
Supporting the goals and ideals of May 23 as the ‘‘International Day to 
End Obstetric Fistula’’ to significantly raise awareness and intensify 
actions towards ending obstetric fistula. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2014 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. 
CONYERS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 
MEEKS, Ms. BASS, Ms. MENG, and Mr. MCDERMOTT) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of May 23 as the ‘‘Inter-
national Day to End Obstetric Fistula’’ to significantly 
raise awareness and intensify actions towards ending ob-
stetric fistula. 
Whereas the United Nations has designated May 23 as the 
‘‘International Day to End Obstetric Fistula’’; 
Whereas obstetric fistula is a catastrophic childbirth injury 
which arises as a complication of obstructed labor; 
Whereas an estimated 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 women cur-
rently are afflicted by the devastating physical and social 
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•HRES 595 IH 
effects of obstetric fistula, a scourge of epidemic propor-
tions; 
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 because a woman 
does not have access to emergency obstetric care or be-
cause she does not have the financial means, transpor-
tation, 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 595 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 fistula 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 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 595 IH 
Whereas women can be re-integrated 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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