Florida Democrat State Rep. Kelly Skidmore said she is absolutely not ok with her daughter watching a video that shows life beginning at conception, as the Florida House passed a measure which would have middle and high school students watch a video on human embryologic development.
“And if my daughter were about to be forced to watch a video that said life begins at conception, I would have a problem with that, because I don’t share that opinion,” she declared. “Because it is not fact.”
WATCH:
WATCH: Democratic Rep. Kelly Skidmore says if her daughter was "forced" to watch a video that says "life begins at conception," she would "have a problem with that."
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) April 23, 2025
HB 1255 requires students in grades 6–12 to watch a video on human embryonic development. Parents will have the… pic.twitter.com/CI6IK39CVF
The Florida House passed the educational bill HB 1255 in an 86-27 vote. The bill, in part, requires what it describes as “health education for students in grades 6 through 12 to include instruction on human embryologic development.” However, the measure also contains an exemption for parents to opt their child out of the informational teachings on human embryologic development. It also requires the school districts to notify parents on their right to an exemption on this topic.
House Student Academic Success Subcommittee approved of the measure in March. Per the bill, the informational video must include what it describes as a “high-definition, medically accurate ultrasound video, at least 1 minute in duration, showing the heart and other organs and movement of the limbs and head.”
Additionally, it calls for a “high-quality, medically accurate, computer generated rendering, animation, video, or other multimedia, at least 3 minutes in duration, showing and describing the process of fertilization and various stages of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development by week from conception until birth.”
“Any student whose parent makes a written request to the school principal shall be exempted from the teaching of human embryologic development,” the bill adds, noting that a student may not be penalized for their exemption.
“Each school district shall, on the district’s website homepage, notify parents of this right and the process to request an exemption,” it adds.
Florida Phoenix notes that the fetal development video “is not included in the Senate’s version.”
Rep. Dana Trabulsy said of her bill, “This is not propaganda. This is not political. This is just a great education bill that happens to have a piece in it about biology and the development of human life.”
Although many politicians have tried to find middle ground with 6-week abortion bans, fetal development is already well on its way at that point, with the baby measuring the size of a sweet pea. Per the Mayo Clinic:
The sixth week of pregnancy, or four weeks after conception, the neural tube along your baby’s back is closing. The brain and spinal cord develop from the neural tube. The heart and other organs also start to form.
Cleveland Clinic puts it this way:
Week 6: Tiny buds that become arms and legs also develop. Blood cells are taking shape, and circulation will begin. Structures that’ll become the ears, eyes, and mouth take form. Your healthcare provider can probably detect pulses in the cluster of cells that will form the heart on a vaginal ultrasound.
The potential measure comes as abortions increased again in 2024, with an estimated 1,038,100 unborn babies killed in the U.S.
