Indiana and Iowa governors sign bills requiring prenatal development education in schools

Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds have both signed bills requiring children in the states’ public schools who participate in sex ed classes to learn about human prenatal development.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Children who participate in sex educations classes in Indiana public schools will be required to view both a high-definition 3-minute minimum ultrasound video and a high quality computer rendering or animation showing specific markers of human prenatal development.
Children in grades 4-12 in Iowa public schools will also be required to view a high-definition ultrasound along with either a high-quality computer-generated rendering or an ultrasound or other real image that shows specific developmental markers.
The installation of Indiana’s and Iowa’s bills marks four states that have enacted such prenatal education legislation during this year’s legislative session.
These and similar bills have come under fire from pro-abortion groups who view prenatal education of this nature as “propaganda.”
Some groups have attacked Live Action’s “Baby Olivia” video — which qualifies as an option for viewing under both bills — as “Christian nationalist indoctrination,” despite the fact that it discusses neither religion nor abortion. The video shows human prenatal development from fertilization to birth.

THE DETAILS:

Senate Bill 442 in Indiana requires students in sex education classes to view human prenatal development videos as part of their curriculum — both an actual ultrasound and an animated rendering. Braun signed the legislation on May 6, after it was passed by both the state House and Senate in April.

Per the bill, students must be shown:

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A high definition ultrasound video, at least three (3) minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development. (B) A high quality computer generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and each stage of fetal development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for every week of pregnancy from fertilization to birth.

Live Action’s “Baby Olivia” computer-animated video would be a qualifying option that schools may choose to utilize to fulfill part B of the bill’s requirement.

Senate Bill 175 in Iowa, signed by Gov. Reynolds on June 6, requires public school students in grades 4-12 to view “a high-definition ultrasound video showing the presence of the brain, heart and other vital organs in early fetal development” along with “a high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation, or an ultrasound or other real image that depicts the humanity of the unborn child by showing prenatal human development, starting at fertilization, noting significant markers in cell and organ development throughout every stage of pregnancy.” Live Action’s “Baby Olivia” video would qualify under this bill for viewing as well, but is not specifically required by the law.

The video uses realistic, digital animation to depict medically-accurate information about the preborn child’s life in the womb, capturing significant growth and development milestones from the moment of fertilization through birth.

Thumbnail for A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb | Baby Olivia

It was created in collaboration with medical experts, using data from the Endowment for Human Development (EHD), a self-described “nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health science education and public health” that is “committed to neutrality regarding all controversial bioethical issues.” EHD even has its own award-winning full-length prenatal education DVD featuring the same timeline of development from fertilization through birth, distributed by National Geographic.

Despite the fact that the bills do not specifically mention Live Action’s “Baby Olivia,” the video has received significant pushback from abortion advocates across the country who believe that teaching prenatal development by showing high definition ultrasounds and computer renderings is, in their words, “propaganda.” Abortion supporters have made wild claims about “Baby Olivia” and prenatal education, even calling it “Christian nationalist indoctrination.”

In actuality, the video makes no mention of religion (or even abortion), and Live Action News has repeatedly debunked the claims that the video is medically inaccurate (with the main objection being that it tracks human development from fertilization onward instead of adding an additional two weeks to gestational age for the time period between menstruation and ovulation/conception).

COMMENTARY:

Live Action founder and president Lila Rose stated in a press release:

… This legislation ensures that students in these states will see medically accurate, visually compelling educational materials in public school including resources like Live Action’s ‘Baby Olivia’ video, which illustrates the humanity of the preborn child from the earliest stages of development. Indiana and Iowa are the fifth and sixth states, respectively, to add fact-based education on human development in the womb to state education standards, joining Idaho, Kansas, Tennessee, and North Dakota.

I call on Indiana and Iowa and every state across the nation to build on this foundation with bold policies that further protect the preborn and support mothers and families, creating a culture where every life is embraced and every child is protected.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Ultimately, the real issue seems to be that the abortion industry and its allies do not want students to see evidence that debunks the false pro-abortion teaching that a preborn child is merely a “clump of cells.”

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