Iowa House votes to allow schools to show anti-abortion 'Baby Olivia' video in class

Iowa schools would be required to show students a computer-generated video detailing the stages of pregnancy, like the "Baby Olivia" video developed by an anti-abortion group, under a bill that passed the Iowa House Wednesday.

The bill, House File 2617, requires human growth and development and health classes in seventh grade through high school to show a three-minute, computer-generated video detailing the stages of pregnancy.

The bill says the video shown should be "comparable to the Meet Baby Olivia video developed by Live Action." Medical groups like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say that video is anti-abortion misinformation "designed to manipulate the emotions of viewers."

House lawmakers voted 59-35 Wednesday to pass the measure. Two Republicans, Reps. Chad Ingels, R-Randalia, and Tom Moore, R-Griswold, voted with every Democrat present to oppose the bill. All other Republicans present voted to support the measure. The bill now goes to the Iowa Senate.

The bill's floor manager, Rep. Anne Osmundson, R-Volga, said the "Baby Olivia" video "is not required. It is simply a suggestion."

"The bill ensures the teaching to our children of basic facts about human development in a very approachable way," Osmundson said. "This is scientific information. This is teaching basic biology to our children. And it helps to answer one of life’s biggest questions: where did I come from?"

More: Baby Olivia could appear in Iowa classrooms. Who is she and why is she so controversial?

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, accused Republicans of pushing a political agenda in the classroom.

"This is indoctrination," she said. "This is putting content in the classroom to change students’ minds about a political issue. I don’t want to ever hear again that teachers indoctrinate students. Please vote no."

Live Action, the makers of the "Baby Olivia" video, describes itself on its website as "leading pro-life advocates." The group says it “exists today to shift public opinion” on abortion and is dedicated to supporting a “culture of life.”

The video begins by showing sperm swimming to an egg as the video's narrator says, "this is the moment that life begins. A new human being has come into existence."

The video measures pregnancy using "weeks after fertilization." That's different from “weeks after the last menstrual cycle,” which is what a pregnant person would typically hear from a doctor.

Iowa physicians and educators said in a letter to state lawmakers that by using weeks after fertilization, the video misleads viewers because the framing indicates milestones happen about two weeks earlier than is accurate.

The video also uses disputed language about a fetal "heartbeat," which it says can be detected just over three weeks after fertilization.

Doctors say in most cases cardiac activity cannot be detected in an embryo until about six weeks gestation, and it is inaccurate to call the electrical impulses generated by the embryo's cells a heartbeat at that stage of the pregnancy because the embryo does not yet have a heart.

More: Inspired by anti-abortion group, Iowa bill would require schools to show pregnancy video

Rep. Molly Buck, D-Ankeny, said the "Baby Olivia" video "deliberately misinterprets the timeline of fertilization, the timeline of fetal heartbeat and other medical facts about fetal development."

"The questions of when life begins is deeply personal," she said. "It varies among individuals. It varies among families and honestly it varies among faiths. It is not the role of our chamber to prescribe what people believe or require teachers to influence young people with propaganda."

The Iowa bill is similar to a law enacted last year in North Dakota. This year, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri are considering their own versions of the legislation.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa House votes to allow schools to show 'Baby Olivia' video in class