The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
A Republican lawmaker introduced a bill this week that would require Ohio public schools to show a video about fetal development to students starting in the third grade.
State Rep. Melanie Miller, R–Ashland, introduced Ohio House Bill 485, also known as the “Enact Baby Olivia Act.” The three-minute Meet Baby Olivia video was produced by Live Action, which advocates against abortion, and it shows fertilization and fetal growth.
“This legislation does not deal with abortion at all,” claimed Miller, who also serves as the Ashland Pregnancy Care Center executive director. “This deals with the science of human development. … We’re hoping that we can change the culture to be celebrating life instead of destroying life.”
Planned Parenthood calls the “Baby Olivia” video “inaccurate, misleading, and manipulative.”
“Students should learn the science around human reproduction, but those lessons should also include medically accurate and comprehensive information that is proven to encourage teens to delay the start of sexual activity until later in life and give them the tools to prevent unintended pregnancy and plan how to start a family when they are ready to do so,” Abortion Forward Executive Director Kellie Copeland said in a statement.
“This propaganda video full of misinformation is the opposite of that.”
Abortion is legal in Ohio up until 22 weeks of pregnancy. Ohio voters passed a ballot measure in 2023 that added protections to abortion care and reproductive rights to the state’s constitution.
“I fully expect that those who will be in opposition to this bill will try to delegitimize it, and they will refer to it as propaganda, among other things,” said Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio President Kate Makra. “The dehumanization of the unborn child must fail.”
The minimum the bill requires is showing either the Baby Olivia video or an ultrasound video at least three minutes long. A school district could choose to do something extensive, Miller said.
“The video would feature detailed animations of ultrasound imagery showcasing the early stages of human development in the womb, including the formation of critical organs like the brain, the heart, and the limbs,” Miller said.
“This visual resource is designed to be scientifically accurate, engaging and appropriate for classroom settings, fostering a deeper appreciation for the complexity of human life.”
The bill would require the video to be shown to students every year starting in third grade through twelfth grade beginning with the 2026-27 school year.
“As you get older, your questions may evolve and your understanding may evolve,” Miller said. “So why not (show the video each year)? What is the harm? Three minutes is not very long in health class.”
The video would be mandated in any public school course covering human growth, development, or sexuality, Miller said.
“The miracle of life is not something that can be easily explained,” she said. “So why don’t we provide a scientifically accurate depiction of the human development process so that our students have a fuller, more complete understanding?”
Similar bills have been introduced in more than 20 other states so far this session and Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota, Tennessee, Iowa, and Indiana have enacted similar bills into law.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce would conduct annual audits to verify the school district is meeting the bill’s requirements of showing the video.
Advance notification would be given to parents ahead of time before the video is shown in class so they would have the option to opt their student out of watching the video.
Ohio does not have a comprehensive set of health education standards, but stresses abstinence-only sex education.
“Abstinence is very important that we are educating in our schools,” Miller said.
