Rep. Tony Kayser, R-Sioux Falls, is the prime sponsor of a bill that would mandate prenatal education in South Dakota schools. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE — Legislation that would require the state’s public schools to show students videos about prenatal development will be heard by the South Dakota Senate, despite concerns from opponents about medical accuracy and mandated education standards.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 6-1 to approve House Bill 1313 on Monday. The House of Representatives supported it 52-10 last month. The bill will be heard next by the full Senate. If it succeeds there, it goes to the governor’s desk for approval.
If the bill becomes law, the state Board of Education Standards would create “age-appropriate and research-based instruction” on prenatal development, to include a video on the stages of development at least three minutes in length. The videos could not include any information from groups that perform or promote abortion, or are affiliated with a group that does so.
“This is needed education,” said Rep. Tony Kayser, R-Sioux Falls, the bill’s prime sponsor in the House of Representatives.
Legislation passes state House that would require schools to show prenatal development videos
Kayser shared an animated video as an example of what teachers would be required to show. The video comes from Live Action, an anti-abortion group that has advocated for similar legislation in six other states.
State Sen. Greg Blanc, R-Rapid City, is the bill’s prime sponsor in the Senate.
“For many years, South Dakota has been a leader in putting value on the life of babies in the womb, and this bill continues that priority,” Blanc told the committee. “It’ll be a great benefit to our students, to parents and educators.”
Opposition included advocates from the South Dakota Education Association, School Administrators of South Dakota and the South Dakota Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Educators said legislating this mandate circumvents the process by which education standards are set in the state, the opponents said. Medical experts said the Live Action video is medically inaccurate, and does not align with how doctors date pregnancies.
Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, cast the lone no vote Monday. He said a legislative mandate for education standards is “highly unusual,” and he raised concerns about the accuracy of the source material.
“It has to be absolutely disingenuous to say that this is not political,” Smith said.
Abortion became illegal in the state, except to preserve the life of the mother, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Smith said he wondered what the next step for anti-abortion lawmakers might be after that change occurred.
“And here we are,” Smith asked.
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