A trio of proposed laws would require public school health educators to show students starting in sixth grade a series of videos created by a pro-life organization that depict abortion procedures and fetal gestation.

One of the bills would also institute a new graduation requirement for all public university students in New Hampshire mandating that they view a “gestational development” video in order to receive a college diploma.

“These are comprehensive, completely educational, well-done, non-political, non-religious videos,” Rep. John Sellers, the prime sponsor of the bills, said during a hearing Wednesday morning.

The four videos cited in the bills were developed by the organization Live Action, which describes itself as committed to “pro-life advocacy.” Three of the videos show graphic animated re-creations of how different abortion procedures are carried out. At least two of the three would be mandated for high school students annually under House Bill 662.

One of the videos is narrated by Dr. Noreen Johnson, who performed abortions before ultimately renouncing the practice.

“I came to recognize the inherent value and dignity of all human life. That’s when I truly saw the ugliness of abortion. Now I am a pro-life advocate,” Johnson, who died in 2021, says in the video.  “… I invite you to join me and make a decision to protect the pre-born.”

The five- to six-minute abortion procedure videos depict the embryo’s heartbeat thumping, tools being inserted into the uterus and the moment the embryo is “rapidly torn to pieces,” as another video describes.

“Some may say that the videos here are graphic, but I say we have many questionable teaching and non-teaching materials in our schools today,” said Sellers, a Republican from Bristol, referencing books that some people have sought to ban from schools.

The second bill, HB 667, would require public schools to show students a “high-definition ultrasound video” each year starting in sixth grade. Under the proposed law, health educators would have the option to choose their own video, as long as it met certain specifications, or play one created by Live Action called “Meet Baby Olivia.”

That video describes the various phases of human gestation.

The third bill, HB 730, would require public schools to devote at least one hour during each year of high school to discussing “adoption and [providing] materials related to unexpected pregnancy options.” It would also require public universities to make adoption-related materials available.

All three bills are widely opposed. Across the three bills, thousands of people submitted online testimony, with 2,076 indicating opposition and 65 people indicating support.

Those who testified in person soundly rejected Sellers’ characterization of the videos’ neutrality.

“This three-minute video, which I did watch, entitled ‘Meet Baby Olivia’, is clearly geared toward indoctrination of young minds,” testified Sara McNeil, a former nurse who worked in a clinic that performed abortions. “Calling an embryo a baby and giving it a name – Baby Olivia – is totally misleading and likely to be confusing to some children.”

Kurt Wuelper, chairman of the New Hampshire Right to Life Political Action Committee, acknowledged that the videos are not neutral on abortion.

“They need to see the babies trying to get away,” Wuelper testified of the purpose behind the videos. “They need to see the results. That’s why when they see it, they’ll never forget it, and it’ll save a lot of babies’ lives.”

Opponents also argued that the bills would represent a departure from New Hampshire’s emphasis on local control in education.

“This is a very prescribed curriculum, eroding local control decisions on what is best for local communities,” said Jerry Frew, the associate executive director of the New Hampshire School Administrators Association.

Frew questioned how additional requirements would affect education outcomes.

“Oftentimes, I sit in this room listening to people assail public education,” he said. “Yet we continue in this body and others to talk about additional requirements placed on public school curriculum expectations. Where does the time come from for all of these things?”

The gestational video bill comes with an anticipated price tag of at least $245,000 per year because it requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual audit of each school district and the state university and community college systems to verify that the graduation requirement has been met. The fiscal note states that the audit would cost the Department of Education at least $102,000, and the graduation requirement verification would cost the community college system between $10,000 and $100,000 and the university system $135,000 per year.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.