Requiring New Pregnancy, Fetal Development Info For K-12 Students

Des Moines, Iowa — A bill eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate Education Committee would require that public schools show students in all grades ultrasounds and computer-generated animation that explain pregnancy and fetal development. Amber Williams, a lobbyist for an Iowa organization called Inspired Life, says getting this kind of information when she was a student may have changed her decision to have an abortion at the age of 18.

Similar bills that stalled in the legislature last year specified the “Meet Baby Olivia” video produced by an anti-abortion group would have to be shown to students, starting in 7th grade. There’s no reference to that video in this year’s bill — and the legislation no longer says what’s presented to students should be based on research by medical organizations like the American College of OBGYNs. Johnston High School student Genevieve Weis is asking legislators to reject the bill.

Bill backers say the legislation requires students be presented with research-based, unbiased information that depicts the humanity of the unborn child. A lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa says it’s a politically motivated bill that’s meant to influence the trajectory of young Iowans’ lives.

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