Arizona bill requiring public schools to teach fetal development passes Senate

An Arizona bill that recently passed the Senate would mandate public schools to teach fetal development, a measure pro-life advocates believe will advance their cause.

H.B. 2830 directs schools to determine the appropriate grade levels for instruction and requires teachers to cover the full process of human development in the womb beginning at conception and including major developmental milestones such as the formation of the brain, spinal cord, heart, face, and limbs.

The bill specifies that this material “may not be classified as sex education for the purposes of parental consent or opt-out requirements.” Sex education remains optional in Arizona.

The House voted to exclude abortion providers from providing any health education to students. The Senate removed that exclusion from the bill. The House must accept the amendments before the bill can go to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk.

Pro-lifers have praised the bill for seeking to provide students necessary scientific information and a well-rounded education. 

“Educated people often become pro-life people,” Noah Brandt, the vice president of communications for Live Action, told The College Fix in a phone interview.

“We know that when people understand when human life begins, they’re much more likely to be in favor of protecting human life,” Brandt said.

“Every student deserves access to high-quality materials on science,” Brandt said. “And one of the most important parts of science is human biology and human development.” 

He added that this is why Planned Parenthood considers the passage of human development education laws to be among the most dangerous developments in the country.

Discussions about human development necessarily involve addressing when human life begins, which is at the moment of fertilization, he said. 

“Every medical textbook will tell you that,” he told The Fix. 

According to Brandt, the bill also advances education on a topic that children are naturally curious about, as “they love to hear about what prenatal development is like.”

“You know, is the baby’s heart beating? Is the baby, you know, can you feel the baby kick? It’s incredible. And so I think that it makes a ton of sense just straight from an education perspective that this should be being taught in schools,” he said. 

Seven states, including North Dakota, Tennessee, Idaho, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, and South Dakota, have passed similar legislation since 2023. 

The bills have allowed or prompted the use of Live Action’s computer-generated video called “Baby Olivia.” The video depicts fetal development from fertilization to just before birth.

Pro-abortion organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, have objected to the “Baby Olivia” video, alleging that it is medically inaccurate. Planned Parenthood published an article on its website calling the video “dangerous indoctrination.”

The College Fix emailed Planned Parenthood’s media relations team about its views on H.B. 2830 on April 28 and May 2, but did not receive a response. The Fix also left a voicemail message with the media relations team on April 29.

Abortion advocates have spoken out against the bill over concerns that it is meant to promote the pro-life cause or that it leaves out information. 

Jodi Liggett with Reproductive Freedom for All told lawmakers not to support the bill at a February 10 meeting.

“We feel this information is not necessarily intended to help Arizona students, but to push a particular agenda,” she said, according to The Arizona Mirror.

Arizona Education Association lobbyist Isela Blanc spoke out against the bill for omitting what she believes is necessary information.

“It is designed to teach biological development from fertilization to birth only, without touching on sexual acts, contraception methods, labor, delivery or reproductive decision making,” she said. 

“It requires schools to focus on fetal development while leaving out how life begins and how a child is delivered. That is fragmented science, not education,” Blanc said. 

H.B. 2830 is sponsored by state Rep. Rachel Keshel. The College Fix emailed Keshel on March 4 and April 9, but did not receive a response.

Arizona’s current education standards for public K-12 schools require students to learn generally about human reproduction, but does not explicitly contain prenatal development.

The state’s Constitution includes a “fundamental right to abortion” after voters approved Proposition 139 in 2024.