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Committee refers fetal‑development curriculum bill to amending order after contested hearing
Summary
Senate Bill 1046 would require human growth and fetal‑development instruction — using ultrasound or animations — in classes that address human biology, contraception or sexually transmitted infections; the committee voted to send the bill to the amending order for revisions.
Senator Tammy Nichols presented Senate Bill 1046 to the committee, describing a proposal to require human growth and development instruction that includes fetal‑development material (high‑definition ultrasound videos or computer‑generated animations) in any grade or course that addresses human biology, contraception or sexually transmitted infections.
"A key aspect of this bill is that students will be taught that a fetus is not just a collection of cells, but a living human being," Nichols said. She and cosponsor Representative Heather Scott said the measure is intended to give students a visual, age‑appropriate understanding of prenatal development and to complement adoption‑education language passed in prior legislation.
Committee members questioned the scientific claims and age appropriateness of the examples shown at the hearing. The sponsor showed a three‑minute video depicting fetal development; several medical and education witnesses contested factual claims in that video. Misty Delicarpini Tolman, testifying for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said the video contained inaccurate medical claims (for example, timing of embryonic development and survival rates for extremely preterm infants) and warned against mandating potentially misleading materials. Legal advocates and a representative from LegalVoice pointed to specific inaccuracies in timestamps and urged caution.
Other witnesses supported the bill. Mary Kalex and Sydney Alex (private citizens) and representatives of adoption‑support organizations said visual materials helped people understand prenatal development and could influence decision‑making in unplanned‑pregnancy circumstances. Terry Moorcroft of Unplanned Good and other supporters said districts should be able to choose which approved materials to show and that the bill's language would allow flexibility.
Committee members repeatedly raised process and authority questions: whether instruction of this content is better addressed through state content standards and subject‑matter review, whether the State Department of Education had formally reviewed the bill, and whether the bill's civil‑enforcement provision (authorizing an action to compel district compliance) was necessary or appropriate.
After extended testimony and questions, Senator Carlson moved to refer the bill to the amending order (fourteenth order) to address concerns including the civil‑action language and content‑definition questions. The substitute motion passed on a roll call; the committee recorded five ayes and four nays. The sponsor offered to remove the civil‑enforcement provision (section 3) in the amending order if that would address concerns.
