One day after Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly vetoed two bills, the state’s Republican lawmakers overrode her actions. The bills, which mandate the addition of prenatal development education in the state’s schools as well as child support for pregnant women, will soon take effect.
House Bill 2382 requires students in the state’s public schools to view a “presentation of 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 and other vital organs in early human fetal development.” The video would be required in any class that discusses human growth, development or sexuality, like sex education and biology classes.
Though the bill does not specifically include Live Action’s “Baby Olivia” video, the content does fit the bill’s requirements and is an option that may be used in classrooms. It offers a 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.
Prenatal education bills have been introduced or passed in several states and have been vilified by abortion proponents, who have gone so far as to call the legislation “Christian nationalist indoctrination.” This mindset was parroted by Kelly when she vetoed the bill Wednesday, calling the bill “convoluted, manipulative and wrong.”
“This bill fails to establish standards to ensure the information included in the program is evidence-based,” Kelly claimed. “But it is not surprising, as the goal of this bill is not to educate developing and impressionable young minds — it is to push a specific agenda without proper research to back it up.”
Live Action News has repeatedly debunked the many claims put forth by the abortion industry regarding the “Baby Olivia” video. In the floor debate last week, Republican Senator Joe Claeys addressed the nonsensical claims.
“What the opponents fear most about this bill is that the scientific facts might actually lead students to their own conclusions,” he said. “When they say they lack context, I feel like what they really mean is that it lacks the insertion of their ideology.”
READ: Sex ed ‘leader’ slams prenatal development education because it might ‘stigmatize’ abortion
Public school parent Danielle Good spoke to The Kansas City Star about the legislation, expressing her support for videos like “Baby Olivia,” as it was one such video that “made her pro-life.”
“I think everyone should have a visual of what actually happens during that procedure before making a life-altering decision,” she said. “I’m actually all for this. Watching a video like this is what made me turn pro-life. I think everyone should have a visual of what actually happens during that procedure before making a life-altering decision.”
House Bill 2062 will provide child support payments for pregnant mothers based on costs associated with the mother’s pregnancy. The bill would provide significant support to single mothers by requiring the father of the child to provide financial support from the moment of conception.
The bill also establishes the personhood of the preborn child, and allows families to claim a personal income tax deduction for the preborn child.
“This bill is about being compassionate to pregnant women,” explained Republican Rep. Susan Humphries.
In her veto, Kelly called the bill an “overreach.”
“At first glance, this bill may appear to be a proposal to support pregnant women and families,” she said. “However, this bill is yet another attempt by special interest groups and extremist lawmakers to ignore the will of Kansans and insert themselves into the lives of those making private medical decisions.”
Lawmakers in the House and Senate disagreed.
“These are common sense measures that support women and babies,” Sen. Ty Masterson and Rep. Dan Hawkins said in a joint statement following the veto. “But because of the governor’s unreasonable pro-abortion ideology, even more funding to help pregnant women, fetal development education, and holding deadbeat dads accountable are too extreme for her.”
