New from Illinois: Lifesaving Law Passes

The benefits of learning CPR seem like a pretty big no-brainer to me, especially when it comes to learning it before graduating high school. However, it’s an issue that some need to be sold on.

The senate in Illinois have voted to pass a bill with a goal: saving lives. It will require high school students to be trained in CPR before graduation. I can see the rolling orbs of annoyance now, “Ugh, it’s just another class I have to take,” to which I say something that is echoed by thousands; CPR isn’t a class, it’s a life-skill. And good news: it isn’t a whole new class you’d have to take, it’d just be included in the health classes already required in Illinois high schools.

Representative Daniel Burk holds a similar view. He is the chief sponsor of House Bill 3724, a bill that would require learning how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation effectively. But wait–things are going to get fancy.  The bill will also require students in Illinois high schools to learn how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) in their health classes as well.

Law language aside, I don’t really like the language ‘mandate’, ‘requirement,’ and ‘have to.’ Students could now be able to learn CPR for free. They’d be learning life saving procedures that are not difficult to learn and can make a world of difference to a fellow human being in need.

The House voted on the bill in April, passing it with a majority vote of 100-12. The Senate Education Committee approved the bill on May 6. It was then passed by the Senate on May 21st.

If the bill is signed by the governor, Illinois will be 18th in the line of states with this law.

ProTrainings is now offering CPR training for students. They can learn at their own pace, and the training is 100% free, which takes away the “unfunded mandate” argument.  With ProTrainings’ Students Train Free program, there’s no reason why not to train students in CPR, unless you are against saving lives.

You never know when a person is going to pass out on the street, in a cafe, in your school, or in your own home. It could be a teacher, a family member, a stranger, or a friend. If you don’t know CPR, how are you going to help them? 92,000 people are saved by CPR every year, which is wonderful! However, what if the people who saved them hadn’t taken the time to learn CPR? Those people they saved would not have had a second chance at life. Someday, that person might be you.

Sources: swnewsherald, KelliCline.com, ProTrainings