OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — “Meet Baby Olivia” could be coming to a classroom in Oklahoma, if a bill is signed into law this upcoming legislative session.
It’s new model legislation being pushed in conservative states as part of a post-Roe vs. Wade landscape.
The video, which depicts fetal development, was made by an American pro-life organization. Many of the markers of development depicted in the video have been disputed by medical experts.
Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have both come out against the mandated video showing in classrooms. The organizations say not only does the video depict inaccurate information, it pushes an abstinence-only stance on children while advancing a pro-life agenda.
On Thursday, a senate subcommittee in Iowa advanced a Meet Baby Olivia bill.
“When students are given false information, it leads to confusion and hinders their understanding of important concepts,” Genevieve Weis, a 17-year-old junior at an Iowa high school, said during testimony Thursday. “This not only affects their academics but their ability to make informed decisions about their future. ”
Two “Meet Baby Olivia” bills, HB 1603 and SB 587, have been filed in Oklahoma for the 2025 legislative session.
Though the bills don’t mention the video by name, the parameters of the video are mentioned:
- A high-definition ultrasound video, at least 3 minutes in duration, showing fetal development
- A high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and every stage of fetal development
HB 1603 requires students to view the video before graduating. It also instructs the State Department of Education to integrate the video into state academic standards. SB 587 requires school districts to display the video to high schoolers. Both bills have emergencies attached to them, so if signed into law, they would go into effect on July 1.
The same “Meet Baby Olivia” legislation has been introduced in several states, including Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Dakota.
