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Ohio Republicans Push Controversial “Baby Olivia” Video in Public Schools
A new legislative proposal in Ohio is stirring debate as Republican lawmakers push to mandate showing a controversial fetal development video to children as young as third grade in public schools.
Ohio State Representative Melanie Miller introduced the bill earlier this month, requiring schools to show the “Baby Olivia” video, which purports to detail fetal development but has been criticized by medical professionals for containing significant inaccuracies.
The video, produced by anti-abortion organization Live Action, claims that fetuses experience hiccups at seven weeks gestation. However, medical experts, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), have repeatedly stated that fetal hiccups don’t begin until around 23 weeks.
“Like much anti-abortion misinformation, the ‘Baby Olivia’ video is designed to manipulate the emotions of viewers rather than to share evidence-based, scientific information about embryonic and fetal development,” ACOG stated in response to the video last year.
The Ohio proposal follows similar legislation in other states. In 2023, North Dakota became the first state to mandate what supporters call “fetal development education.” Tennessee followed with a law requiring public schools to show either an ultrasound or a fetal development video during sex education classes. To date, six states have enacted similar laws.
Critics argue these educational initiatives represent a strategic pivot by anti-abortion activists following consistent polling showing strong public support for abortion access. Recent Pew Research Center data indicates 63 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, abortion rights measures have been successful in nearly every state where they’ve appeared on the ballot, including traditionally conservative states like Montana and Kansas.
Live Action, the organization behind “Baby Olivia,” has a controversial history. Its president, Lila Rose, has claimed that abortion is “never medically necessary” – a position contradicted by mainstream medical organizations. The group also previously employed David Daleiden, who was convicted for illegally recording communications between patients and healthcare providers in his campaign against Planned Parenthood.
Reproductive rights advocates argue the focus on showing these videos to young children is particularly concerning. Many third-graders have not yet received basic sex education, making them especially vulnerable to emotional manipulation through computer-generated imagery and simplified narratives about fetal development.
“This isn’t really aimed at educating children,” said a spokesperson from Reproaction, an abortion rights group that has analyzed the content of the “Baby Olivia” video. “It’s a blatant attempt to indoctrinate young children with misleading and emotionally manipulative content that isn’t grounded in medical science.”
The legislative push comes amid broader tensions between political ideology and scientific consensus on reproductive health. Since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, medical professionals have documented cases where pregnant women have died after being denied emergency abortion care in states with strict abortion bans.
Ohio itself has been at the center of abortion debates following a 2022 case where a 10-year-old rape victim was forced to travel to Indiana for abortion care because she exceeded Ohio’s six-week limit by three days. The state later voted to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution in November 2023.
As the Ohio legislature considers Representative Miller’s bill, both medical organizations and educational experts have expressed concern about inserting politically charged content into public school classrooms, particularly when that content contradicts established medical understanding of fetal development.
The bill remains in committee as lawmakers evaluate its implications for Ohio’s educational standards and parental notification requirements.
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12 Comments
While fetal development is an important topic, this video seems designed more to sway opinions than provide objective information. Schools should be wary of mandating the use of such ideologically-driven materials.
Exactly. Presenting unbalanced, misleading content as fact in classrooms is a dangerous precedent that undermines the integrity of education.
This proposal seems like a transparent attempt to insert anti-abortion messaging into public schools. Mandating the use of a video with known inaccuracies is a concerning development that merits close scrutiny and pushback from educators and medical experts.
This is a concerning development. Forcing schools to show an anti-abortion video with known inaccuracies is a clear attempt to indoctrinate students, not educate them. I hope this proposal is rejected on scientific and ethical grounds.
Agreed. Using the education system to push a political agenda around a highly contentious issue like abortion is deeply problematic and should be resisted.
The claim that fetuses experience hiccups at 7 weeks is clearly false based on the medical consensus. Forcing schools to show this video is an abuse of the educational system to promote a specific ideological agenda, not provide factual information.
Agreed. Spreading misinformation under the guise of ‘fetal development education’ is a cynical tactic that has no place in legitimate, science-based curricula.
This bill sounds like another attempt to push anti-abortion propaganda in schools. Mandating the showing of an inaccurate ‘fetal development’ video is concerning. Students should be taught science, not ideologically-driven misinformation.
Agreed. Schools should focus on providing factual, evidence-based education, not spreading political agendas around sensitive topics like abortion.
I’m troubled by the apparent lack of scientific rigor behind this ‘Baby Olivia’ video. Requiring its use in schools raises serious concerns about the politicization of the curriculum and the erosion of evidence-based teaching.
I’m curious to see how medical experts and educators respond to this proposal. Promoting pseudoscience in classrooms is troubling and goes against the principles of quality, objective education.
Absolutely. The credibility and intentions behind this video need to be thoroughly scrutinized before it’s considered for mandatory viewing in schools.