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 referals for abortions. Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, said the bill will promote respect for life in all stages.
“Using material from abortion advocates may provide a tainted view of life before birth and that is unfair to young, learning minds,” Taylor said yesterday before the bill passed on a 33-16 vote. “Embryos, fetuses, babies, adolescents and adults are all humans and that fact should not be hidden, that every life no matter how small contains humanity and dignity from the very start.”
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner and the other 15 Democrats in the senate opposed the bill. “I, for one, want to make sure that my child is taught evidence based information in the classroom,” Weiner said.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa said the bill promotes material that presents “medically inaccurate information as scientific fact” and injects politics into Iowa classrooms. Pulse Life Advocates said the bill is “a significant victory” because 78% of young adults say abortion should be legal in all or more cases and the group said it is “vital for children to learn at an early age the beauty of life in the womb.”