Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — The Iowa Senate has sent the governor a bill to mandate that Iowa public school students — starting in fifth grade — be shown ultrasounds and videos of fetal development in health classes. It doesn’t directly mention an anti-abortion group’s animated video, but the bill’s description matches the content of “Meet Baby Olivia.”
The bill also bars the use of educational materials that come from any entity that promotes, performs, or makes referrals for abortions. Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, says the bill will promote respect for life in all stages.
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner and other Democrats in the senate opposed the bill.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa says the bill promotes material that presents medically inaccurate information as scientific fact and injects politics into Iowa classrooms. Pulse Life Advocates says the bill is a significant victory because 78 percent of young adults say abortion should be legal in all cases or more cases and the group says it is vital for children to learn at an early age the beauty of life in the womb.
