The state that ranks near the bottom for children’s well-being will create a memorial to fetuses aborted under Roe v. Wade.
The fetus-fetishizing bill has passed the Arkansas state legislature and has been sent to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who will almost surely sign it.
From VICE News:
The monument would be paid for by private donations, while its design would be overseen by the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission—with some input from local anti-abortion groups. In case the state is sued over the monument—which may raise questions about the separation of church and state—the bill also hands the Arkansas attorney general the ability to mount a defense of it.
“You can ask slaves what happens when we forget. We have to remember slavery in America so it won’t come back,” said Republican Rep. Cindy Crawford, according to the Arkansas Times. “We have to remember abortion in Arkansas so it won’t come back.”
You have to wonder how many slaves Rep. Crawford has spoken with, but I digress.
Fortunately, not all the Republicans think the monument is such a great idea. The Arkansas Advocate reported that Reps. Steve Unger and Jeremiah Moore both opposed it. Unger, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, said, “A memorial to an ongoing culture war where we seem to be shooting at each other” is not a “right and proper” kind of memorial. He suggested fundraising to help pregnant Arkansans or the state’s foster system instead.
But a sponsor of the bill, Rep. Mary Bentley, called Roe v. Wade “a holocaust in this nation,” during which “we forgot how precious human life is. And life won.”
That is, until the fetus becomes a child. Arkansas ranks 43rd in the country for the welfare of living children, VICE reported. The ranking is based on factors such as birth weight, the number of children living in poverty and their mental health.
Of course, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is anxious to have all those young children fill labor needs in her state, too.
