Parent & Advocate Guide: Protecting Science in Schools

How to Push Back Against the “Baby Olivia” Mandate in Iowa

Know the Law and the Loopholes

  • In 2025, Iowa passed a “Baby Olivia” bill (Senate File 175), which requires human growth and development classes for Iowa students in grades 5-12 to include ultrasound video and computer-generated rendering or animations depicting “the humanity of the unborn child by showing prenatal human development, starting at fertilization.”

  • The law does not forbid schools from offering additional context, medically accurate materials, or alternative videos, as long as they include something like Baby Olivia.

  • This means school boards and districts often have leeway in how the requirement is implemented. That’s where local advocacy matters.

Get Organized

  • Form a Parent Network: Connect with like-minded parents through PTA, local Indivisible, faith groups, or advocacy orgs.

  • Create a Petition: Collect signatures calling for medically accurate and unbiased supplemental materials.

  • Build Alliances: Partner with healthcare providers, teachers, clergy, and reproductive rights groups who can provide credibility and expertise.

  • Use Messaging Consistency: Stick to the same 3–4 key points (see below) so your coalition speaks with one voice.

Core Talking Points for School Boards

When speaking at board meetings or writing letters, emphasize:

  • “Life at Conception” is Theology, Not Science

    • Medical science recognizes fertilization, implantation, viability, and birth as stages of development.

    • Different religions define “when life begins” differently. Public schools should not impose one faith’s beliefs.

  • The Video Contains Medical Misinformation

  • Schools Must Teach Science, Not Indoctrination

    • We don’t teach one religion’s version of creation in biology.

    • We shouldn’t teach one religion’s view of conception as medical fact.

  • Parents Deserve a Voice

    • No clear opt-in/opt-out protections exist.

    • Parents should know what their children are being shown and have the right to request medically accurate alternatives.

Action Steps

  •  Attend School Board Meetings

    • Show up in numbers. Prepare 2–3 parents to speak with concise, respectful statements.

    • Provide board members with a short packet of medical evidence (citations from ACOG, NIH, Mayo Clinic).

    • File a formal complaint within the school district, challenging the curriculum on the grounds that it fails to meet established educational standards. Schools are required to provide a "Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials".

  • Organize Letters & LTE Campaigns

    • Write letters to local papers exposing the political agenda behind the video.

    • Share your story as a parent concerned about accurate education.

  • Engage Teachers Privately

    • Teachers may not support Baby Olivia either, but feel pressured. Encourage them to raise concerns internally or to quietly add context with medical accuracy.

Frame the Issue Effectively

  • Values-Based Messaging:

    • “I want my child to receive an education based on facts, not politics.”

    • “Schools should prepare kids for the real world with science-based health education.”

    • “Religious beliefs belong in homes and churches, not in public school science classrooms.”

  • Avoiding Traps:

    • Do not frame this as being “anti-baby” or “pro-abortion.”

    • Keep the focus on accuracy, parental rights, and church–state separation.

Build Long-Term Power

  • Track Board Members: Find out who supports the video and who is persuadable.

  • Run for Local Office: Consider supporting candidates for school board who believe in science-based education.

  • Stay Connected: This fight is part of a national campaign. Join state and national reproductive rights networks to share resources and strategies.

Quick Facts for Parents

  • Baby Olivia was created by Live Action, an anti-abortion political group, not doctors or educators.

  • It contains false claims about fetal development, debunked by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

  • It violates parental rights by forcing a specific religious message into classrooms without opt-in.

  • The forced inclusion of Baby Olivia conflicts with the legal requirement that schools teach research-backed, medically accurate health information.

Sample Parent Statement

(for Board Meetings)

“As a parent, I expect my child’s health education to be based on science, not politics. The Baby Olivia video was created by a political advocacy group, not medical experts. It makes false claims that doctors have debunked. Our kids deserve medically accurate, age-appropriate education that prepares them for the real world. I urge this board to protect the integrity of our classrooms by supplementing or replacing this video with fact-based resources.”

BOTTOM LINE: This law was designed to push propaganda into Iowa schools, but parents and communities can organize to demand science, protect parental rights, and stop misinformation from becoming the foundation of sex education.

Sources:

  • How your fetus grows during pregnancy. (n.d.). ACOG.

  • Fetal development: What happens during the 1st trimester? (n.d.-b). Mayo Clinic.

  • Cognitive Functions of the Fetus. National Institutes of Health.

  • The first trimester. (2024, June 20). Johns Hopkins Medicine.

  • Perinatal Care at the Threshold of Viability: An International Comparison of Practical Guidelines for the Treatment of Extremely Preterm Births. (2008, January 1). American Academy of Pediatrics.

  • Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) – "Fetal Pain: A Systematic Review" (2005)

  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – "Facts on Fetal Pain" (2021)

  • Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) – "Fetal Awareness Report" (2010)

Resources Available at: CDC, American School Health Association, and SHAPE America