Arkansas officials have unveiled plans for a ‘monument to the unborn’ to commemorate fetuses aborted in the years before the procedure was outlawed in the state.
The monument will be situated at the state’s Capitol to mark pregnancies terminated from 1973 to 2022 when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Arkansas made abortion illegal except to save a mother’s life.
Proposals for the memorial included a bronze statue of a blindfolded baby sat atop an umbilical chord and placenta, an empty tomb and a monument incorporating facts about children in the care system.
Nine submissions were received in total, with the Capitol Arts and Grounds favoring a living wall composed of flora and fauna designed by local artist Lakey Goff.
Secretary of State John Thurston will make the final decision on the $55,472 monument.
Hellbound and Down 