Anti-abortion organizations have no place in youth health education. Sign now if you agree.

In April of 2023, North Dakota enacted a law inspired by Live Action’s “Baby Olivia” video under the guise of teaching young people about fetal development. [1] Similar anti-abortion propaganda legislation was passed in Tennessee and introduced in at least ten more states this year; seven of these bills – those in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and South Carolina– explicitly referenced the Live Action video.  [2,3]

Despite claiming to be backed by scientists, the claims made in the “Baby Olivia” video don’t add up. The video repeats anti-abortion lies and inflammatory rhetoric debunked by numerous medical professionals and for example includes the claim that hiccups begin at seven weeks of gestation, despite medically reviewed sources stating that fetal hiccups begin at 23 weeks. [4, 5] Additionally, the self-described scientists backing Live Action’s video have ties to anti-abortion groups seeking to ban all abortions, with two working for anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s research arm. [6]

Live Action is an extreme anti-abortion group, and the organization and its work have no place in education. Live Action and its founder and leader Lila Rose have close ties to David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist who deceptively edited sting videos and spread inflammatory rhetoric about Planned Parenthood that was repeated by Robert Lewis Dear in a squad car immediately after he shot three people to death inside a Colorado Springs health center. [7, 8] Live Action also employed Reuben Verastigui, an anti-abortion activist who was later convicted of distributing, receiving, and possessing child pornography. [9] In addition to these disturbing ties, Rose has taken stances against IVF and contraception. She has also widely disseminated a dangerous lie that “abortion is never medically necessary.” This lie endangers people experiencing acute medical emergencies and has been directly refuted by medical groups and the Associated Press. [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]

Framing anti-abortion disinformation as educational material is detrimental to our nation’s youth. Add your name and make the message clear: Live Action’s anti-abortion propaganda has no place in our public schools.

Sources:

[1] https://legiscan.com/ND/bill/HB1265/2023

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/21/meet-baby-olivia-anti-abortion-sex-ed

[3] https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HB2435/2023

[4] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/09/02/1033727679/fetal-heartbeat-isnt-a-medical-term-but-its-still-used-in-laws-on-abortion

[5] https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/fetal-health/fetal-hiccups

[6] https://babyolivia.liveaction.org/

[7] https://www.thedailybeast.com/maker-of-planned-parenthood-video-called-abortion-genocide

[8] https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2019/12/09/colorado-springs-planned-parenthood-shooter-indicted-by-justice-department/

[9] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/246416/former-employee-of-pro-life-organizations-arrested-in-dc-on-child-pornography-charges

[10] https://twitter.com/LilaGraceRose/status/1384733559697461248

[11] https://twitter.com/LilaGraceRose/status/1694527703788249310

[12] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkwsBExmqTI&ab_channel=LilaRose

[13] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/03/21/stopping-birth-control-misinformation/

[14] https://www.facebook.com/lilagracerose/videos/508941603187665/

[15] https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2019/09/abortion-can-be-medically-necessary