Please email your state legislators to tell them to cosponsor and vote yes on House Bill 359, the Baby Olivia Act.
This is a bill that we have supported for several years. Last year, it got the most cosponsors of any bill sent to the house education committee that didn't become a law.
What would the House Bill 359 do?
- Establishes a health curriculum for 6th graders or older about human growth and development
- The curriculum would include a high-definition ultrasound video at least 3-minutes-long that shows the development of the brain, heart, and genitalia in early fetal development
- It would also include a computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and the stages of fetal development in the womb
Pro-lifers like this bill because evidence suggests that women who see the ultrasounds of their own babies are more likely to desire to keep those babies rather than to abort them. By showing students the ultrasounds earlier in life, those pro-lifers hope to promote a culture of life even more in the next generation. The legislation would also help visual learners to more easily understand the earliest stages of human growth and development.
In addition to us at the Kentucky Family Association and Kentucky Doctors for Life, both the Family Foundation and Kentucky Right to Life support the Baby Olivia Act. While we are not aware of the Commonwealth Policy Center taking a position on this particular piece of legislation, they are also generally pro-life and also desire the culture to become more pro-life.
Representative Nancy Tate reintroduced the Baby Olivia Act this legislative session. It already has at least 10 cosponsors out of the 100 members of the Kentucky State House, but none of those early cosponsors are members of House leadership.
In the past, the ACLU (which acts as Planned Parenthood's legal arm) has voiced opposition against the Baby Olivia Act, but Tennessee, Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota, Indiana, and Iowa have passed it into law. We can have the Baby Olivia Act here also.
MORE ACTION YOU CAN TAKE:
Now, Rep. Scott Lewis is the chair of the house education committee. We need the Baby Olivia Act legislation to get a hearing and get through the education committee so that it can get a vote on the floor of the state house. Please consider emailing or writing a letter to Scott Lewis to encourage him and the rest of the education committee to take up and vote yes on House Bill 359.
Rep. Scott Lewis's work email address is:
Scott.Lewis@kylegislature.gov
(There is a period between "Scott" and "Lewis" and another period between "kylegislature" and "gov" in that email address.)
You can also write him a letter. His office address at the capitol is:
Scott Lewis
702 CAPITAL AVE
Annex Room 367B
Frankfort, KY 40601-3448
Thanks again for any help you can give to encourage this legislation to pass! At least 894 verified Kentucky residents emailed their state legislator last year or signed our Baby Olivia Act petition. Thanks to all of you from these Kentucky cities and towns who did that:
- Alexandria
- Ashland
- Benton
- Berea
- Boaz
- Bowling Green
- Brooksville
- Calvert City
- Coxs Creek
- Crestwood
- Eddyville
- Elizabethtown
- Fairdale
- Fisherville
- Florence
- Fort Mitchell
- Frankfort
- Georgetown
- Hawesville
- Hickory
- Highland Heights
- Independence
- Kevil
- La Grange
- Lawrenceburg
- Lewisport
- Lexington
- Louisville
- Mayfield
- Mount Washington
- Nicholasville
- Owensboro
- Paducah
- Paint Lick
- Prospect
- Richmond
- Sandy Hook
- Shelbyville
- Shepherdsville
- Simpsonville
- Taylorsville
- Union
- Waddy
- Walton
- Wilmore