Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a news conference at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Last Friday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed Senate File 175, a Republican-written piece of legislation that mandates schools to teach about the “humanity of the unborn child” to grades 5-12.

The new law also forbids any materials created by organizations, like Planned Parenthood, that perform or promote abortions, along with any materials that make reference to the medical procedure.

SF 175 passed in both chambers of the Republican-dominated state legislature earlier this year, with one Republican in the Iowa General Assembly voting against it.

While debating the bill, members of the GOP argued that the legislation will bring humanity to Iowa classrooms. Although it only allows material from one perspective of the abortion rights issue, Rep. Helena Hayes (R-New Sharon) reportedly said the law insist on “medically accurate” information that is not political.

“This bill insists on material being medically accurate, peer-reviewed, bias-free, respecting both intellect and conscience,” she said. “It’s not about politics, but it challenges us to see value, beauty and dignity in every stage of human life.”

Democrats pushed back by pointing out schools will be unable to use learning material from respected medical institutions, including Rep. Austin Baeth (D-Des Moines), who is a doctor with a medical degree from the University of Iowa.

“This bill bans the use of information that came from institutions like the Mayo Clinic, The Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins University,” Baeth said. “This bill bans the use of research-based information when teaching our kids about pregnancy and the development of the human body and the origins of life.”

Iowa Starting Line’s Salina Heller reported last month that the bill likely mandates teaching the “Meet Baby Olivia” video made by the anti-abortion Baby Olivia group, which “misrepresents gestational age, makes false claims about viability, and uses narration that emotionally manipulates viewers.”

When the bill passed the Iowa House of Representatives in April, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa said HF 175 will politicize the state’s youth.

“Iowans do not want their children used as political pawns, but the people elected to represent them continue to steamroll them with deeply unpopular policies like this that undermine our youth and put their futures at risk,” Gabriela Fuentes said.

Similar bills have been proposed by Republican lawmakers in Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Arizona.