Arkansas Legislature Approves Bill for ‘Monument to the Unborn’

A bill was sent to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sent a bill to the desk of Gov. “monument to the unborn” The grounds of the state Capitol.

Senate Bill 307 was approved by the Republican-led state House, also known as The “Monument to Unborn Children Act,” by a vote of 60–19 on March 14. The monument would commemorate the number of abortions in Arkansas that occurred before Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S Supreme Court in June 2022.

To this memorial, it would be built “remember those children we were not able to protect, and we will not be able to forget,” Mary Bentley, a Republican state representative and the bill’s House Sponsor, said:

Arkansas has a law against abortions, except when it is necessary to save the mother’s health. The 2019 state law “trigger law” The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in its entirety last year made it illegal to perform abortion. This allowed for state-level decisions on abortion laws.

“From 1973 until 2022, Arkansas was prevented from protecting the life of unborn children by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court,” According to the bill, there were approximately 236,243 elective abortions performed in the state between 1994 and 1996.

The memorial would be privately paid for by the “Monument to Unborn Children Display Fund.”

The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission, which includes pro-life groups, would oversee the selection and design process. Final approval of the selections would be given to the secretary of State.

Once the monument is approved, the secretary-of-state would coordinate the construction, placement and dedication.

Sanders has not yet commented about the bill, however she is an outspoken pro-life supporter.

National Right to Life, Arkansas Right to Life PAC and National Right to Life endorsed Sanders in the 2022 gubernatorial elections. She also wrote the foreword to the 2020 book “Life is Winning” Marjorie Dannenfelser (ex-Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America) is the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Some Republicans Oppose the Proposal

Jeremiah Moore, Republican Rep. Steve Unger, and Jeremiah Moore voted no on the measure because they felt it would do more harm that good.

“Public memorials to our nation’s wars where we face an external threat are right and proper,” Unger said. “A memorial to an ongoing culture war where we seem to be shooting at each other is not.”

Moore said that he believed the monument was a good idea. “will serve as a poke in the eye to all those who don’t share our beliefs.”

“It will only be used as a weapon to rally against pro-life values through fundraising and stirring up anger and vitriol,” Moore went on.

Cindy Crawford, Republican Rep., likened it to a monument that remembers slavery in America so that it doesn’t happen again.

“We have to remember slavery in America so it won’t come back. We have to remember abortion in Arkansas so it won’t come back,” She said. “There’s no reason why we can’t have a monument. It’s not a poke in the eye; it’s a ‘God forgive us for what we have done.'”

Voting for the election was conducted by ten Republicans, and one Democrat “present” On the bill.

Democrats argued that the monument could be used to politicize the Capitol grounds, rather than unify people.

“This is injecting a contentious political issue to the grounds of the state Capitol, and it’s doing so in a way that I can imagine is going to be painful for a lot of women who have gotten abortions in the last 50 years,” Democrat Sen. Clarke Tucker made the remarks earlier in March.

Tennessee lawmakers approved in 2018 a privately funded monument for the unborn to be installed on Capitol grounds. The monument is still not installed.

This report was compiled by the Associated Press.