In early 2023, North Dakota passed legislation that required public schools to show “a high-definition video, at least three minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development.”
State House Bill 1265 faced its share of scrutiny from leftists across the country. For example, Iowa Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst claimed a video mapping out fetal development “is just politics” and “not scientifically correct.”
The video used as an example in the bill was produced by the pro-life organization Live Action and titled “Meet Baby Olivia.” In three minutes, it follows the development of a baby from conception to birth as the end of the nine-month “journey,” as the video describes.
Republican state Sen. Janne Myrdal of North Dakota referenced the Live Action content during hearings on HB 1265 and said, “For me, it wasn’t a life issue. It was education.”
Myrdal said part of what stirred her to advocate for this legislation is she found it “odd” that human development wasn’t already part of some school curriculums.
Roughly a year later, it would seem the state of Tennessee came to the same conclusion.
On April 23, that state’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, signed into law House Bill 2435, which requires teaching this science to students in Tennessee.
As The Christian Post reported, “The votes in both chambers came down along party lines, with all Republicans supporting the legislation and all Democrats opposing it.”
The bill text states:
“A family life curriculum that directly or indirectly addresses human growth, human development, or human sexuality [must] include the presentation of a high-quality, computer-generated animation or high-definition ultrasound of at least three minutes in duration that shows the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development, such as ‘Meet Baby Olivia,’ a high-quality, computer-generated animation developed by Live Action that shows the process of fertilization and the stages of human development inside the uterus.”
Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, celebrated the momentum in a news release last week.
“Tennessee is setting a precedent for other states to follow in prioritizing comprehensive education on human development by mandating state-of-the-art life-like animation explaining human development, like Live Action’s Baby Olivia video, in state education standards,” Rose said.
She continued, “Tennessee has joined North Dakota in setting the standard for world-class education that ensures students are equipped with the knowledge they need. Tennessee has over 1 million public school students who will now be equipped with cutting-edge educational material on human development in the womb.”
As Live Action noted in a statement on April 25, “Women are indeed less likely to choose abortion if they are shown the humanity of their children.”
Some have pointed out that the passage of this bill is significant as the gap between Republicans and Democrats increasingly widens on the issue of life. But in Tennessee, it passed in the House in “an overwhelming 67-23 vote in March,” and was approved by the Senate 21-6.
With HB 2435 set to go into effect in the fall, Tennessee state Rep. Gino Bulso, a Republican and the lead sponsor of the bill, said, “The fruits of including Meet Baby Olivia as a part of every family life curriculum used in Tennessee’s public schools will be long-lasting and widespread across Tennessee.”
Mary Szoch, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, told The Washington Stand, “The passage of TN House Bill 2435, the Baby Olivia Act, is a huge win for all Americans.”
Should every student see “Meet Baby Olivia”?
She explained that Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, “recently noted that approximately 70 percent of the abortions carried out by Planned Parenthood are done using the abortion drug, mifepristone. Planned Parenthood describes this process as one where the woman takes the drug mifepristone, then takes misoprostol, then passes the ‘pregnancy tissue.’”
But according to Szoch, the reality is different.
“Countless women have described their horror at taking these drugs, experiencing horrific pain and bleeding, and then delivering what they were promised was a clump of cells or ‘pregnancy tissue’ but is visibly and recognizably their dead unborn baby into the toilet,” she said.
As such, the pro-life expert added, “Many of these women experience heartbreak and regret once they recognize that the abortion drug, mifepristone, killed a baby — their baby.”
This is why “legislation like the Baby Olivia Act” is needed, Szoch said, as it “will help many to recognize the biological fact that what Planned Parenthood refers to as ‘pregnancy tissue’ is actually an unborn baby and an abortion kills that child.”
She concluded, “The Baby Oliva Act will make certain both men and women know this BEFORE mothers and fathers experience the heartbreak of abortion. I hope more states follow this path!”
This article appeared originally on The Washington Stand.
