New York, NY, March 10, 2010 – The Wisconsin Restroom Access Act – Assembly Bill 709 will receive a public hearing by the State Senate Committee on Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Technical Colleges, and Consumer Protection on Tuesday March 16, 2010, at 9 a.m.

Assembly Bill 709 would give IBD patients the right to use restrooms in retail locations that normally do not make their restrooms available to patrons including employee only restrooms. With a doctor's note or card from a state-approved issuer, residents could use any retailer's restroom during normal business hours if the business had at least three people working and there was no safety risk.

To express your support of the bill, you may attend the session by alerting the bill’s sponsor, Representative Karl VanRoy. If you are not able to attend the hearing in person, you may send written testimony or a letter of support to the committee for its consideration. Address letters and testimony to: Members of the Senate Committee on Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Technical Colleges, and Consumer Protection. Please send your letter to Rep. VanRoy via e-mail Rep.VanRoy@legis.wi.gov or fax 608-282-3690.

Because many IBD patients cannot physically “hold it,” their quality of life can be diminished, as many IBD patients limit their activities to not be far from a restroom. This quality of life can be improved if patients can be confident that, should they need a restroom, they will be granted access. That is why The Foundation for Clinical Research in IBD supports legislation that requires retail locations to allow these patients to have access to restroom facilities. It is also why The Foundation for Clinical Research in IBD issues patients and physicians Restroom Access Cards which are available free of charge at its Web site www.MyIBD.org.

The Foundation for Clinical Research in IBD is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing continued support to the IBD professional community, encouraging and enabling continued clinical research into IBD and its treatments and supporting patients and their families through education.

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