The Arkansas legislature is aiming to provide some real indoctrination to our classrooms.
House Bill 1180, deceptively titled the “Baby Olivia Act,” is a Trojan horse for anti-abortion propaganda.
This bill would force public schools to teach biased, ideologically driven content starting as early as fifth grade. Here’s what the bill would do:
- Require public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools to include a “human growth and development discussion” in health courses starting no later than the 5th grade.
- Require the program to show:
- A high-definition ultrasound video, at least 3 minutes long, depicting early fetal development.
- The “Meet Baby Olivia” video developed by Live Action, an anti-choice organization.
- Require sex education in schools to include:
- Sexual abstinence instruction.
- Mandated fetal development content (“human growth and development discussion”).
The mandated videos are from Live Action, an extremist anti-choice group that has a history of promoting misinformation and fostering dangerous rhetoric.
These materials are designed to promote fetal personhood and push an anti-choice agenda, not to educate children with unbiased, science-based health information.
Worse, the bill sidelines critical lessons about contraception, reproductive health, and the realities of pregnancy — three items woefully lacking in health education in public schools.
Additionally, HB 1180 is a carbon copy of anti-choice propaganda bills being pushed across the country. Similar laws have been enacted in states like North Dakota and Tennessee, with nearly a dozen others introducing the same language in 2023.
These bills claim to educate young people about fetal development, but in reality, these materials would introduce scientifically debunked lies and inflammatory rhetoric into our classrooms. An example: the “educational” video claims that fetal hiccups start at seven weeks — a falsehood contradicted by medical experts who place the milestone at 23 weeks. This bill is part of a coordinated national campaign to inject anti-choice propaganda into public education.
HB 1180 is pure indoctrination. Embedding anti-abortion messaging into public school curricula means Arkansas lawmakers are using our children as pawns in their crusade to roll back reproductive rights. This comes from lawmakers in a state that already has a full abortion ban.
We cannot let this happen, folks. HB1180 weaponizes our education system and undermines reproductive rights. Call your representatives and let them know that Arkansas families deserve better than this.
Our classrooms should teach facts — not political propaganda.
