Idaho's Republican Gov. Brad Little has signed a law requiring schools to teach about fetal development, a move proponents believe will enable children in the state to learn that life begins at conception. 

Little signed Senate Bill 1046 into law last week, following its approval by the Republican-controlled Idaho Senate in a 27-8 vote on Feb. 27 and the Republican-controlled Idaho House of Representatives in a 63-6 vote on March 18.

The votes fell mainly along party lines, with most Republicans supporting the measure and most opposition coming from Democrats. Three Democrats in the Idaho House joined Republicans in supporting the legislation, while two Senate Republicans joined Democrats in opposing it. 

Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, Senate Bill 1046 declares that each school district serving students in grades five through 12 "shall include instruction on human growth and development" in the curriculum.

The "human growth and development" lessons must include "A high-definition ultrasound video, at least three (3) minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development." 

The other requirement for the new curriculum involves the presentation of "a high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and every stage of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for every week of pregnancy until birth." 

The curriculum must be included in any course "that discusses or provides instruction concerning human biology, discusses or provides instruction concerning contraception, or discusses or provides instruction concerning sexually transmitted diseases or sexually transmitted infections."

Lila Rose, pro-life activist and founder of the advocacy group Live Action, said in a statement that the "study of human development is a fundamental aspect of science education."

"I am thrilled that with the passage and signing of SB1046, students in the great state of Idaho will gain a deeper understanding of the incredible process of how human life begins," she said.

"This is a significant step toward equipping Idaho's students with accurate, necessary, and scientifically accurate information regarding human life in the womb," Rose added. "Idaho is now one of the pioneering states to ensure state-of-the-art education explaining and illustrating human development, like Live Action's Baby Olivia video, is included in state education standards. Through vivid, life-like animation, students can now witness the beauty and reality of life in the womb from the moment of fertilization."

Critics of the bill have argued that it could limit what teachers can include in their instruction on the topic. The Idaho Freedom Foundation contends, however, that "harmful myths" are being advanced by Democrats that human life does not begin at conception as a justification for more expansive legalized abortion. 

Idaho joins North Dakota and Tennessee as the states that require education on fetal development. 

"Every American student deserves access to the truth about when life begins and how it develops," Rose said. "These truths inform minds and foster a culture that respects human life at every stage of development."

The "Baby Olivia" video, shared by Rose in an X post published as Tennessee implemented a similar law to Idaho's Senate Bill 1046 last year, shows unborn babies at various stages of development as part of an effort to make the point that life begins at fertilization. 

Identifying conception as "the moment that life begins," the narrator asserts that "At fertilization, her gender, ethnicity, hair color, eye color and countless traits are already determined."

The video also details how the baby "begins to implant in the uterus about one week after fertilization."

"Her cells organize into what we call an embryo. At three weeks and one day, just 22 days after fertilization, Olivia's heartbeat can be detected," the video continues. "The buds of her arms and legs appear by four weeks. She begins to move between five and six weeks, with both spontaneous and reflexive movements. At six weeks from fertilization, her brain activity can be recorded and bone formation begins."

Additional development milestones highlighted in the video include the emergence of fingers and toes as well as the ability to hiccup at around seven-and-a-half weeks gestation, the ability to suck her thumb, swallow, grasp an object, touch her face, sigh and stretch nine weeks into the pregnancy, the maturation of taste buds by week 12, the ability to sense her mother's movements 14-18 weeks into the pregnancy and the development of speaking movements in her voice box at 18 weeks gestation. 

Insisting that "babies have survived outside the womb" as early as about 20 weeks into pregnancy, the video notes that "at 27 weeks, her eyes are responding to light, she can recognize her parents' voices and will even recognize lullabies and stories." The video concludes by labeling childbirth as the end point of Olivia's nine-month "journey."

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