From a National Institutes of Health (NIH) press release : Statement of Duane Alexander, M.D., Director Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health On the Contributions of Eunice Kennedy Shriver in Advancing Research in Child Health, Human Development, and Intellectual Disability The entire world owes a debt to Eunice Kennedy Shriver for her foresight in calling for an institute at the National Institutes of Health to study the myriad aspects of human development, both as it unfolds without problems and when medical and environmental factors prevent it from doing so. In 1961, Mrs. Shriver persuaded her brother, then-President Kennedy, to include in his first health message to Congress the proposal for an NIH institute focusing on child health and human development research. After the bill that would establish the new institute was introduced, Mrs. Shriver testified in support of that bill and worked to persuade members ...