An education billworking its way through the Iowa House of Representatives would require a fetal development video to be shown to elementary school children. The video was produced by a group that opposes abortion. Abortion rights advocates say the video is propaganda and not medically accurate, while anti-abortion organizations praise the video and support the bill.
- Proponents of the bills say that the science is accurate, but opponents say the video cited as an example in the bill is not medically accurate.
- Ryan Benn of the conservative group, The Family Leader: “... It's true on the other side, a lot of abortion advocates seem to be very upset about the science of the video. But from our point of view, they seem to be upset because it clearly points to the conclusion that a little girl in the mother’s womb — she is a baby. She’s a human being that deserves to be protected. That’s our position.”
- Mazie Stilwell from Planned Parenthood of Iowa: “It’s simply propaganda. It is not medically accurate and the idea that here in Iowa we are interested in showing six-year-olds the process of a sperm fertilizing an egg and yet, at the same time, we are banning books across the board, is really difficult to square.”
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A health education bill that would require schools to show students a video on fetal development, starting in elementary school, is being considered by the Iowa House Education Committee.
I’m your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
A point of contention: whether the video cited in the bill is medically accurate.
“Meet Baby Olivia,” the video that’s specifically mentioned in the bill, was produced by an anti-abortion organization, Live Action.
Mazie Stilwell, from Planned Parenthood: “We believe our young people should have access to comprehensive and age-appropriate and medically accurate sex education. And what we see in this bill is anything but...”
Ryan Benn, the policy director for The Family Leader, a conservative advocacy group that supports the bill, says the video was reviewed by medical professionals.
Benn: “The bill simply informs students of the facts; that human development doesn’t start when the baby is born. It starts nine months before that and we think the kids will be interested to learn, where they came from, how they developed before they were born.”
The video claims an embryo heartbeat can be detected at three weeks after fertilization.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it’s inaccurate to call an embryo’s cardiac activity a “heartbeat” at that stage.
There’s also a matter of where the video originated.
Benn: “ ... It's true on the other side, a lot of abortion advocates seem to be very upset about the science of the video. But from our point of view, they seem to be upset because it clearly points to the conclusion that a little girl in the mother’s womb — she is a baby. She’s a human being that deserves to be protected. That’s our position.”
Silwell: “It’s simply propaganda. It is not medically accurate and the idea that here in Iowa we are interested in showing six-year-olds the process of a sperm fertilizing an egg and yet, at the same time, we are banning books across the board is, really difficult to square.”
Opponents call it copy-cat legislation because other states are considering similar legislation. We compared the Iowa bill to a West Virginia bill. Some of the text is identical.
As the bill makes its way through the Iowa House of Representatives, we’ll continue to track it.
Your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter, Katrina Markel.
