Tennessee ensures pupils are educated about the development of unborn babies

The US state of Tennessee will now ensure that schools teach young people about the development of unborn babies in the womb.

The ‘Baby Olivia Act’, signed into law by Governor Bill Lee, requires most publicly funded schools to show children a “high-quality, computer-generated animation or high-definition ultrasound” of unborn babies’ development.

The law suggests Live Action’s “Baby Olivia” video as one such resource, which highlights that a baby’s sex, “ethnicity, hair color, eye color and countless traits are already determined” at fertilisation.

Scientific fact

Representative Gino Bulso, who was the Act’s lead sponsor before it came into law, previously said: “It is a scientific fact that human life begins at conception.”

He explained: “At fertilisation, you’ve got all 46 chromosomes, you have the entire genetic makeup of the child, and from that point on, it’s simply a matter of growth and development. So if you’ve got something that’s growing from the moment of conception on, I have no idea how anybody could say that you did not have life.”

Similar Bills have been introduced in at least ten other US states this year. They require schools to demonstrate “significant markers in cell growth and organ development for every significant marker of pregnancy until birth”.

Protecting the vulnerable

Under Tennessee law, abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy except when the mother’s physical health is deemed to be at serious risk.

In 2020, Governor Bill Lee stated: “One of the most important things we can do to be pro-family is to protect the rights of the most vulnerable in our state, and there is none more vulnerable than the unborn.”