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Parents know that few feelings can compare with the magic of seeing their unborn baby kicking and wiggling on an ultrasound screen. What was invisible is somehow right before their eyes, in all its lively, astonishing wonder. A new video makes it possible for anyone, anywhere, to witness and appreciate this miracle of human life.
Live Action, an organization dedicated to building a culture of life and advancing human rights, brought together world class visual artists and medical experts, including accredited OB/GYNs, to create the newly released “Baby Olivia” video. It’s the most realistic and medically accurate animated representation of a child developing in her mother’s womb ever made.
The video shows a baby’s progress from a single-celled human to a human with a beating heart, brain waves, fingers, and toes. The computer-generated 3D animation uses motion capture technology of real human movement. It’s an incredible witness to the humanity of unborn children. Live Action explains on their website,
In the video, we see Olivia’s journey from her very beginning at the moment of fertilization, and follow along to her first heartbeat 22 days later. We see her bouncing around in the womb at 11 weeks — before her mother can even feel her movements! — and responding to light at 27 weeks. Then, we see her preparing for birth, after which she will gain a whole new set of experiences in the world outside the womb.
Watching “Baby Olivia” kick, wiggle, and quickly grow is fascinating, and the soothing voice-over explains key developmental milestones. The video brings the wonder of seeing a baby on an ultrasound out of the exam room and into real life, where it can touch countless hearts.
The video is already creating quite a buzz. It surpassed 10,000 views on YouTube in fewer than 24 hours after it premiered. The word is spreading quickly and “Baby Olivia” is going viral.
Lila Rose, the president of Live Action, shares some of the reasoning and motivations behind the making of the video:
We are thrilled to announce the arrival of baby Olivia! And she’s already changing hearts and minds on abortion. As I’ve encountered hundreds of thousands of women through my work with Live Action, I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of real education on prenatal development. As a pregnant woman myself, I know the power of seeing your child on ultrasound, and I wanted to bring to life this little person developing rapidly each week! Baby Olivia gives the world a peek inside the womb never seen before. We worked with a team of amazing animators to beautifully document the details of preborn life, including heartbeat, fingernails, eyelashes, and even hiccups. As we prepare for the Supreme Court to hear a case that reconsiders Roe v. Wade’s wildly unjust legalization of abortion, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, our team is working to make sure Olivia is seen across the globe and by parents, leaders, and legislators everywhere. We know that baby Olivia is at the core of the abortion debate: will we defend her? Will we defend her constitutionally protected right to life? Baby Olivia should be shown to anyone considering abortion–in schools, at pregnancy resource centers, at churches, and in sidewalk advocacy. We can’t wait to see the impact Olivia makes.
The video would be a great one to share with children, including in a classroom setting. Besides showing the humanity of an unborn baby, the video gently explains the science of prenatal development and where we all came from.
Check it out today, and share it with friends and family. You never know whose heart “Baby Olivia” could change!
And today we celebrate...