On Wednesday the Senate Education Committee rejected a good bill that would help teach public school students in Arkansas about unborn children.
H.B. 1946 by Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) requires public schools to provide human growth and development education in grades 6 – 12 every school year.
The bill requires the courses to include a three-minute high-definition ultrasound video and a high-quality, computer animated video depicting the process of fertilization and every stage of fetal development.
Under H.B. 1946, this instruction would be included in biology and sex-education courses.
H.B. 1946 passed with strong support in the Arkansas House of Representatives on Tuesday, and Rep. Bentley presented it to the Senate Education Committee the following morning.
During her remarks, Rep. Bentley noted that there is no known opposition to H.B. 1946, and she asked the committee members to support the bill. However, the bill failed to pass.
H.B. 1946 is the second fetal development education bill to be rejected by the Senate Education Committee. In February the committee failed to pass H.B. 1180, the Baby Olivia Act, by Rep. Bentley and Sen. Penzo. H.B. 1180 would ensure 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, and it would let students see a video like Live Action’s computer-animated “Meet Baby Olivia” video that teaches about human development from conception to birth.
Although the Senate Education Committee has rejected H.B. 1946 and H.B. 1180, the committee did pass S.B. 450 by Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville) and Rep. Kendra Moore (R — Lincoln) — a good bill that lets public school students see a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video as part of human fetal growth and development education courses. The bill also lets students learn important facts about how unborn children develop in the womb.
S.B. 450 received strong support in the Arkansas Senate, and it has been sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
It’s good to see lawmakers taking such an interest in teaching public school students about unborn children.
Ultrasound technology provides what some people call a “window into the womb” demonstrating that unborn children are living human beings. Good bills like H.B. 1180, S.B. 450, and H.B. 1946 help Arkansas’ students understand that.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
