Five more red states plan to show 9 year-olds anti-abortion in sex-ed class
Millions of children, some as young as nine years old, could be forced to watch a pro-life video of a baby in the womb as part of sex education at school.
The three-minute clip shows the weekly development of a fetus – and was made by anti-abortion activists.
Lawmakers are considering bills in four Republican-led states that would force schools to show this ‘Baby Olivia’ short film for students.
Doctors have labeled the video “inaccurate” and say it suggests developmental milestones are being reached two weeks earlier than they actually occur.
There are also dubious claims made that children ‘play’ and ‘explore’ in the womb, which has not been proven in scientific studies.
The four states are considering the move — Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia – all have anti-abortion laws, although Iowa’s is currently suspended.
They are following in the footsteps of North Dakota, which last year passed a law requiring video of fetal development to be shown in classrooms.
Several states are considering laws that would force schools to show videos of a fetus’s development in the womb from week to week — but doctors say the milestones are inaccurate
Above are campaigners outside the Oklahoma state legislature. They are urging state lawmakers not to ban abortions
The video – made by campaign group Live Action, which says it wants to change public opinion around abortion – starts with an animation of a sperm swimming into the female reproductive tract and fertilizing an egg.
The fertilized egg is then shown moving into the uterus, where it implants and begins developing into a fetus.
The video claims that the fetus’s heart starts beating from the age of three weeks – and that brain activity is detectable from the age of six weeks.
At the age of 11 weeks, the fetus already begins to play in the womb.
By the end of the nine-month pregnancy, a fully developed child can be seen with a full head of hair.
Doctors from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have already raised concerns about the video, accusing its makers of “manipulating viewers’ emotions.”
They said the video predates a baby’s development by two weeks because it marks the day since the egg was fertilized rather than the standard medical measure: the number of days since a woman’s last menstrual period.
The clip claims that the heart starts beating after three weeks. Doctors say that the heart doesn’t start beating until six weeks after conception, or four weeks after fertilization
The video also claims that after six weeks, activity is visible in the brain and the hands and arms can be moved together
It was also claimed that as early as eleven weeks it is possible to see signs of play in the womb
They also disputed references to a ‘fetal heartbeat’ at three weeks of age, saying the heart only develops and starts beating at six weeks of age.
Doctors also expressed concern about assigning emotions such as ‘play’, ‘exploration’ and making ‘speech movements’ to a fetus – saying that these had not yet been proven by scientific studies.
There are about 2.3 million schoolchildren in the four states considering the bill.
In Missouri, the bill being considered in the state legislature would require children to watch the video starting in third grade — or nine years old.
In West Virginia, it would take effect beginning in eighth or 10th grade — or ages 13 to 16, while in Iowa it would take effect starting in seventh grade — from ages 13 to 14.
Lawmakers in Kentucky are requiring children as young as sixth grade — as young as 11 years old — to see a video similar to “Baby Olivia.”
Any bill will have to be approved by the legislatures and senates in each state before it becomes law, and must also be signed by the governors.
It’s not clear how long it would take for it to become law, but in North Dakota – where the law is in effect – it was passed within a year.
Live Action says the clip would help educate curious children about where they come from and encourage an “appreciation” of human life.
Republican representative. in Iowa, Luana Stoltenberg was among those who said she was “impressed” by the Olivia video.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” she said.
“Maybe a young child is learning how to develop and grow, and when it becomes pregnant, maybe it decides I don’t want an abortion?
“Is that something terrible?”
West Virginia Republican Senator Patricia Rucker added that the video was not preachy or partisan — or strongly supportive of the pro-life campaign.
She argued that human life was instead shown as a “beautiful, wonderful thing” and that it was a lot like learning how a chick develops inside an egg.
North Dakota’s law, which went into effect late last year, requires schools to include a three-minute ultrasound video and a computer-generated representation of development in the womb during lessons on health and human sexuality.
While the law does not require schools to show the video, the Department of Health specifically mentions it as an option.
The Associated Press contacted 12 of North Dakota’s largest school districts to find out if they were using the video — and five confirmed they were.
The largest district, Bismarck, which has about 13,800 students, does not use the video, it told reporters.