Millions of children, some as young as nine, 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 has been created by anti-abortion activists.
Lawmakers are considering bills in four Republican-led states that would force schools to display the ‘Baby Olivia’ short film for students.
Doctors have called the video “inaccurate” and say it suggests that developmental milestones are reached two weeks earlier than they actually occur.
It also makes dubious claims that children ‘play’ and ‘explore’ in the womb, which are not proven in scientific studies.
The four states considering the measure — Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia – all have laws prohibiting abortion, although Iowa’s is currently suspended.
They follow in the footsteps of North Dakota, which passed a law requiring video of fetal development to be shown in classrooms last year.
Several states are considering laws that would require schools to show videos of a fetus’ weekly development in the womb; However, doctors say the milestones are inaccurate.
Activists are shown above outside the Oklahoma state legislature. State legislators urged not to ban abortions
The video, made by campaign group Live Action, which says it aims to “change public opinion” around abortion, begins by showing an animation of a sperm swimming into the female reproductive tract and fertilizing an egg.
The fertilized egg is then shown moving toward the uterus, where it implants and begins to develop into a fetus.
The video states that the fetus’s heart begins to beat at three weeks and that brain activity is detectable after six weeks.
At the age of 11 weeks, the fetus has already begun to play in the womb.
Near the end of the nine-month pregnancy, a fully developed baby with a full head of hair is shown.
Doctors at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have already expressed concern about the video, accusing its creators of “manipulating viewers’ emotions.”
They said the clip dates a baby’s development two weeks early 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 period.
The clip states that the heart starts beating at three weeks. Doctors say the heart starts beating at six weeks, or four weeks after fertilization.
The video also states that at six weeks there is evident activity in the brain and that the hands and arms can move together.
He also stated that at 11 weeks it is possible to see evidence of play inside the uterus.
They also questioned 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 “playing,” “exploring,” 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 as early as third grade, or as young as nine years old.
In West Virginia, it would take effect beginning in the eighth or tenth grade, or between ages 13 and 16, while in Iowa it would take effect beginning in the seventh grade, between ages 13 and 14.
Kentucky lawmakers would require sixth graders, ages 11 and up, to watch a video similar to ‘Baby Olivia.’
Each bill must go through votes and committees in the houses and senates of each state before becoming law, in addition to receiving the signature of the governors.
It’s unclear how long it would take for them 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 inform curious children about where they come from and foster an “appreciation” of human life.
Republican representative. In Iowa, Luana Stoltenberg was one of those who said she was “impressed” by Olivia’s video.
‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ he said.
‘Maybe a young child learns how it develops and grows and therefore, if she gets pregnant, decides that maybe she doesn’t want to have an abortion?’
‘Is that something horrible?’
West Virginia Republican Senator Patricia Rucker added that the video was not preachy or partisan, nor did she strongly support the pro-life campaign.
She argued that it instead showed human life as a “beautiful and miraculous thing” and was no different than learning how a chick develops inside an egg.
The North Dakota law, which went into effect late last year, requires schools to include a three-minute ultrasound video and a computer-generated depiction of development in the womb during human health and sexuality classes.
While schools are not required by law to show the video, the state 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 video, he told reporters.