Bill would require lessons on how babies develop in the womb

LANSING – House Republicans are sponsoring a bill to require the state’s K-12 health education curriculum to include an overview of human biology related to pregnancy, showing the process of fertilization and human development in the womb. 

Introduced by Rep. Gina Johnsen, R-Portland, and 25 cosponsors, a hearing date has yet to be set by the Education and Workforce Committee.

“Our current (curriculum) standards mention reproduction broadly, but they leave out critical details about fetal development, especially the kind of visual information students now expect in every subject,” Johnsen said. “This bill brings clarity and truth to an area of health education that has been outdated for too long.”

But the proposal has been sharply criticized as a tactic to undermine abortion and reproductive freedom rights in the state. 

Ken Coleman, a press officer at the Michigan Department of Education, said that the department is still reviewing the implications of the legislation. 

Johnsen’s bill would require schools to include presentations of a high-definition ultrasound video, at least 3 minutes long, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs and other vital organs in early fetal development.

That video would be comparable to the controversial “Meet Baby Olivia” video developed by Live Action, a Virginia-based pro-life organization.

Ashley Coffield, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, has described “Baby Olivia” as a “fake ultrasound video that depicts fetal development in an unscientific and emotionally manipulative way by a radical anti-abortion organization.”

Nicole Schlechter, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Nashville, Tennessee, told the Nashville Post 

that the video can cause confusion because it is inaccurate.

“That is what this video is doing, inadvertently. They’re trying to ‘teach’ human development but they’re just teaching false embryology,” she said. 

Coleman said the bill would require an updating of health standards which involves experts, public comments and State Board of Education approval.

“When we update standards, there is a large convening of experts and a period of public comment, both of which would likely involve medical professionals,” he said.

Among the cosponsors are Reps. Cameron Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, Mike Hoadley, R-Au Gres, and Greg Alexander, R-Carsonville.