FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKRC) — Students in Kentucky, and other states, may be compelled to watch a controversial video on fetal development thanks to a series of similar bills.
Kentucky House Bill 346 is also called the Baby Olivia Act, because the video that's being pushed to be shown to the students is called, "Meet Baby Olivia."
The pro-life and anti-abortion group Live Action, noted for its proliferation of found footage from Planned Parenthood, produced the video, which shows the development of a fertilized egg just up until birth.
Christina Bennett, a member of the group who also works at a CareNet pregnancy center and writes for Bound4life's blog, praised the video for its alleged accuracy and stated kids need to see it.
It educates people as to what's happening in the womb," Bennett said."For so long, women have been lied to by the abortion industry and they've been told that what they're carrying inside their womb is nothing more than a lump of tissues or a clump of cells."
Kentucky is one of several states where this legislation has popped up in recent weeks.
"Legislators’ desire for people to know the truth when it comes to fetal development in the womb. They want their constituents and they want people in their community, especially young people to be educated," Bennett said.
However, critics of Live Action say that the information presented in the "Meet Baby Olivia" video is inaccurate.
"It shows really deceitful information about the development of life stages and this would be something that would be shown to students across the commonwealth that isn't accurate or medically grounded. So, this is really harmful," said Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
Wieder, who heads a branch of Planned Parenthood specifically dedicated to advocating for reproductive rights in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky and Washington, said the video incorrectly states when many physical developments happen, making it seem like an embryo or fetus is further along than it really is.
These times in the school system are sometimes the only place that [students] are going to get medically accurate information, scientific information. Once they leave school that is the only time, they have this information,' Wieder said.We need to make sure it's medically accurate and scientifically sound and that they can trust their teachers and their textbooks."
In typical discussions about fetal development, the clock begins at a woman's last menstrual period before conception. That typically adds about two weeks from the date of fertilization.
At the end of the Meet Baby Olivia video, it tells viewers it measures from conception.
Similar bills are being considered in West Virginia and Iowa. However, unlike the bills in other states, Kentucky's doesn't specifically list the Baby Olivia video in the text, but the provisions in the describe a similar piece of media.
The bill also requires students to watch an ultrasound video showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development.
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