An Idaho bill aimed at increasing awareness about the humanity of the unborn passed the Idaho House of Representatives in a decisive vote this week. Pro-life lawmakers have introduced a similar piece of legislation in Oregon.
On Tuesday, Representatives in the Idaho House approved Senate Bill 1046 in a 63-6 vote. The measure will require schools to provide education about human growth and development in public schools for children in fifth through twelfth grades. The state Senate advanced the bill earlier this month.
According to the language of the legislation, the “instruction shall include but shall not be limited to” showing a “high-definition ultrasound video” and a “high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation” depicting human development in the womb, Oregon Right to Life previously reported.
Pro-life advocacy and news organization Live Action noted that Idaho public school teachers could satisfy the requirements of the legislation with its “‘Baby Olivia’ video,” which “uses realistic, digital animation to depict medically-accurate information about the preborn child’s life in the womb, capturing significant growth and development milestones from the moment of fertilization through birth.”
Senate Bill 1046 will now go to Republican Gov. Brad Little for a signature.
Idaho’s legal landscape on the abortion issue is very different from Oregon’s. While Oregon allows legal abortion up to the moment of birth, Idaho law protects nearly every unborn life from the moment of fertilization.
Though facing tough headwinds, pro-life lawmakers in Oregon are also working to introduce legislation to enshrine legal protections for the unborn.
During this legislative session, Representative Court Boice (R-Gold Beach) introduced a bill similar to Idaho’s SB 1046. Oregon House Bill 3459 would require Oregon public schools to use videos like Baby Olivia to teach students about human development in the womb.
Starting in third grade, the bill would require educators to annually present “[a]n oral, written or digital lesson, lecture or presentation about human biology related to pregnancy and human development inside a uterus;” show “[a] high-definition ultrasound video that is at least three minutes in duration and that shows the development of the brain, heart, sex organs and other vital organs in early fetal development;” and present “[a] video that shows the process of fertilization and every stage of human development inside the uterus and that identifies every significant marker of pregnancy until birth in relation to cell growth and organ development.”
The bill is also sponsored by Oregon Republican Representatives Virgle Osborne (Roseburg) and Dwayne Yunker (Grants Pass).
Oregon Right to Life believes in the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Abortion ends the life of a genetically distinct, growing human being. We oppose abortion at any point of gestation. In rare cases, a mother may have a life threatening condition in which medical procedures intended to treat the condition of the mother may result in the unintended death of her preborn baby. At the same time, ORTL recognizes that modern medical practice has and will continue to increase the ability to save both the life of the mother and the baby. Read this and all our position statements here.
