What would the Baby Olivia Act (House Bill 397) do?
- Keeps the abstinence-oriented sex education curriculum in place
- Establishes a health curriculum for 6th graders or older about human growth and development
- The curriculum would include a high-definition ultrasound video at least 3-minutes-long that shows the development of the brain, heart, and genitalia in early fetal development
- It would also include a computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and the stages of fetal development in the womb
Pro-lifers like this bill because evidence suggests that women who see the ultrasounds of their own babies are more likely to desire to keep those babies rather than to abort them. By showing students the ultrasounds earlier in life, those pro-lifers hope to promote a culture of life even more in the next generation.
In addition to us at the Kentucky Family Association and Kentucky Doctors for Life, both the Family Foundation and Kentucky Right to Life support the Baby Olivia Act. While we are not aware of the Commonwealth Policy Center taking a position on this particular piece of legislation, they are also generally pro-life and also desire the culture to become more pro-life.
Representative Nancy Tate reintroduced the Baby Olivia Act this legislative session. It has at least 18 cosponsors out of the 100 members of the Kentucky State House, but none of those early cosponsors are members of House leadership. However, in 2024, Rep. Jason Nemes, who is a part of House leadership, did cosponsor the bill. In that year, there were only 8 cosponsors of the bill. Since we have more cosponsors this year, it may be that we have a better chance of getting the Baby Olivia Act passed if legislators act quickly enough. The legislation has been sent to the House education committee. Four cosponsors of the bill (Josh Calloway, Marianne Proctor, Steve Riley, and James Tipton) are part of that large House committee, according to the Legislative Research Commission.
Last year, the ACLU (which acts as Planned Parenthood's legal arm) voiced opposition against the Baby Olivia Act, but the Tennessee legislature managed to pass the Baby Olivia Act for their state, and their governor signed it into law. We can have the Baby Olivia Act here also.