On Monday the Arkansas Senate Education Committee failed to pass a good bill that provides public school students with appropriate education about unborn children.
H.B. 1180, The Baby Olivia Act, by Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) ensures public schools show students a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video that is at least three minutes long as part of sex-education and human growth and development education courses. It also lets students see Live Action’s computer-animated “Meet Baby Olivia” video that teaches about human development from conception to birth.
The bill passed with overwhelming support in the Arkansas House last week, but the Senate Education Committee failed to pass H.B. 1180 during its meeting Monday morning.
After roughly an hour of discussion, the bill’s sponsors offered to pull the bill down so they could address concerns expressed by members of the committee. However, Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D — Pine Bluff) made a motion “Do Not Pass” on H.B. 1180 in order to kill the bill before the sponsors could address the committee’s concerns.
A “Do Not Pass” motion is a relatively rare motion at the Arkansas Legislature. It calls for the committee to vote to reject the bill.
Adopting a “Do Not Pass” motion requires five votes in committee. Fortunately, the motion only received four votes.
The following senators voted in favor of the “Do Not Pass” motion on H.B. 1180 (bad vote):
- Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D — Pine Bluff)
- Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville)
- Sen. Reginald Murdock (D — Marianna)
- Sen. Jane English (R — North Little Rock)
The following senators voted against the “Do Not Pass” motion on H.B. 1180 (good vote):
- Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville)
- Sen. Joshua Bryant (R — Rogers)
- Sen. Dan Sullivan (R — Jonesboro)
After narrowly avoiding a motion “Do Not Pass,” H.B. 1180’s sponsors pulled the bill down, and indicated they might bring an amended version of the bill back for consideration. That means the Senate Education Committee may have another opportunity to pass the Baby Olivia Act.
Ultrasound images help clearly demonstrate that unborn children are living human beings. Very few medical advancements have done more to change hearts and minds about unborn children than ultrasound technology. And it’s important for students to learn about the development of unborn children in an age-appropriate manner. H.B. 1180 is a good bill that does exactly that.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
