Reproductive autonomy and abortion access are rights which have been continuously attacked for the past two years. Other facets of sexual education have also suffered as a result. On Thursday, April 4, the Tennessee State Senate passed a bill commonly known as the Baby Olivia Act which requires the inclusion of a three-minute video depicting growth and development in the school curriculum. An alternative substitute to the video may be used as long as it is a “high-quality, computer-generated animation or high-definition ultrasound of at least three minutes in duration that shows the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development.” The passed bill resembles a similar law signed in by North Dakota. The three-minute video was produced by the anti-abortion group Live Action and has been accused of medical inaccuracies as well as biases. If the bill is signed by Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, it will take effect in the 2024-25 school year.
The Baby Olivia Act is unethical and doesn’t hold purely educational purposes. Critics of the bill include The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists who state that the video is filled with medical inaccuracies. For example, the video implies that life begins at conception, but this is not verified, and because of this, the fetus depicted in the video is two weeks more advanced than the stage it is shown at. Additionally, the video claims that a heartbeat can be heard when the fetus is three-weeks old despite the heart not being fully formed until the ninth week. The video also misguidedly states that a fetus which is delivered at 20 weeks is able to survive with a large amount of help despite the fact that “only 10% of babies born at 22 weeks survive long enough to be discharged from the hospital,” according to Dr. Daniel Grossman, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. If the bill is signed into law, thousands of students will learn inaccurate medical information regarding the process of pregnancy.
While the creator of the video, the group Live Action, claims that it consulted medical doctors while making the video, it doesn’t excuse the blatantly false medical information provided in the video. Additionally, many of the doctors who were consulted hold anti-abortion views and are associated with right-leaning groups. When seeking to educate students, information which lacks bias is crucial in order for students to be able to take in information and form their own opinions regarding it. In this aspect, the goals of Live Action in creating the video is concerning as the group looks “to shift public opinion on the killing of preborn children.” Throughout the three-minute video, there is barely a focus on the individual who is pregnant and instead the narrator states, “Though she has yet to greet the outside world, she has already completed an amazing journey.” If the video wants to show human development and growth, it would also be important to focus on the individual who is pregnant and what they face throughout their pregnancy. Not presenting this information is dangerous and hypocritical, since it fails to educate students on how a pregnant person can also be affected throughout the process.
Overall, if a video regarding human growth, development and pregnancy is required within the school curriculum, the video should, at the very least, contain medically accurate information and shouldn’t have any bias whatsoever. The video in the Baby Olivia Act fails these basic standards and is harmful to the education of students regarding these important topics. I find it somewhat ironic that sex education in America is highly contested by much of the same individuals who support the Baby Olivia Act. Sex education is an important topic in education, but it shouldn’t be utilized as a political or moral point.
Saisha Islam, FCRH ’25, is a biology major and English minor from New York, N.Y.
