A new bill has been introduced in the Ohio House that would require health classes cover fetal development and offer students information on where they can find prenatal care. But it doesn’t include other related information.
Republican state Rep. Niraj Antani proposed HB 619, the “Unborn Child Development Education Act,” requiring high school students to be taught about the development of fetuses, "including what happens when the unborn child is in the womb and what happens during an abortion.”
Jaime Miracle with NARAL ProChoice Ohio says the state, which has a policy of promoting abstinence in school health classes, should be teaching comprehensive sex education instead.
“And in fact, they are so scared to create sex education standards that we don’t even have health education standards,” Miracle said.
But Antani said that’s not included. According to the press release, “this bill will ensure students know the scientific facts in regard to the development of unborn children.” Antani acknowledges that birth control is not part of his mandate, though.
“No, this bill is simply about what happens with the unborn child, not about any of that,” Antani said.
In March, Ohio Republicans including Antani introduced a bill that would ban all abortions in the state and allow criminal charges against both doctors and pregnant women seeking abortions.
