Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ratifies law allowing monument at Arkansas Capitol to commemorate victims of abortion

Arkansas put its near-total ban on abortions into force in June 2022, ensuring that innocent children will no longer be slaughtered en masse in the state. To ensure that those who did not receive the same protection in years past are not soon forgotten, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed Senate Bill 307 into law Friday, thereby allowing for the construction of a "monument to the unborn" on state Capitol grounds.

The bill — by Republican Sens. Kim Hammer, Tyler Dees, and John Payton and Rep. Mary Bentley — was approved by the state House last Tuesday, reported the Arkansas Times.

Bentley indicated that the design would be "something beautifully done to honor precious children."

The legislation notes that James Wilson, delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and cosignatory to the Declaration of Independence, wrote in his "Lectures on Law in 1790," "With consistency beautiful and undeviating, human life, from its commencement to its close, is protected by the common law. In the contemplation of law, life begins when the infant is first able to stir in the womb. By the law, life is protected not only from actual destruction, but from every degree of violence, and, in some cases, from every degree of danger."

The authors of the bill indicated that Arkansans were long of a similar mind about abortion and had made as much clear in their own prohibitions on the practice. The bill notes, however, that despite Arkansas' opposition to abortion, the state and its people were ultimately deprived of this ability to protect the unborn.

"From 1973 until 2022, Arkansas was prevented from protecting the life of unborn children by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade," said the bill, noting that during that period, "at least two hundred thirty six thousand two hundred and forty three (236,243) elective abortions were performed in this State."

Accordingly, the lawmakers determined that a memorial to the lives lost during this period was necessary, serving also as "a constant reminder of our duty to protect the life of every innocent human person, no matter how young or old, or how helpless and vulnerable that person may be."

A fund consisting of gifts, grants, and donations from individuals will be established for the exclusive purpose of "erecting and maintaining a suitable monument on the State Capitol grounds commemorating unborn children aborted during the era of Roe v. Wade."

The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission will oversee the selection of the artist and design of the monument and will take input from pro-life groups in the state.

The bill also requires that if the legality or constitutionality of the monument is called into question, the attorney general is to launch a defense of the monument or ensure that a private law firm does so.

The bill received overwhelming support in the House (60-19), with votes from all but two Republicans: Reps. Steve Unger and Jeremiah Moore, reported The Hill.

Unger likened the construction of the monument to "spiking the football" following last year's Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe.

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

Moore similarly suggested the monument was over the top, calling it a "poke in the eye to all those who do not share our beliefs."

"This monument will do nothing for the pro-life cause as we move forward together," said Moore. "It will only be used as a weapon to rally against pro-life values through fundraising and stirring up anger and vitriol."

While leftists have a knack for iconoclasm, they evidently do not have a problem poking the proverbial eye of pro-life Americans with their own statues.

TheBlaze previously reported that an eight-foot sculpture of a horned female fused to a lotus flower with what appear to be tentacles was erected above a state courthouse in New York City, commemorating the "spirit" that seeks abortion's legalization across the United States.

Extra to horns, the monstrous figure is adorned with what is supposed to be the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's lacy judicial collar.

Rep. Cindy Crawford took issue with Moore's suggestion, saying, "You can ask slaves what happen when we forget. 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. 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.'"

In his failing appeal to the Senate over the legislation, Democratic Sen. Clarke Tucker said, "This is injecting a contentious political issue to the grounds of the state Capitol, and it’s doing so in a way that I would have to imagine is going to be painful for a lot of women who have gotten abortions in the last 50 years."

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