Arkansas Republicans Propose a Monument to Unborn Fetuses

Instead of using their power and platform to do literally anything else to help the people in Arkansas, four Republican state lawmakers have proposed a bill to erect a statue to unborn fetuses on capitol grounds in Little Rock that would memorialize “the lives lost” before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“As a memorial to the lives lost from 1973 to 2022 due to the decisions of the United States Supreme Court, and 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, it is the intent of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas to enact the Monument to Unborn Children Display Act … and the Monument to Unborn Children Display Fund,” the legislation states.

State Rep. Kim Hammer (R) proposed the bill, and three of his colleagues cosponsored it: Tyler Dees, John Peyton and Mary Bentley. The statue would be called the “Monument for the Unborn.”

Nevermind that Arkansas has recently been ranked one of the worst states in the nation for overall “child well-being” in a 2022 study that measures factors like education and mental health, and the life expectancy among adults in the state is among the worst in the nation due to higher rates of disease and suicide. Also, nevermind that overturning Roe didn’t end abortion in Arkansas or anywhere else—it just made the situation more miserable and dangerous for people who don’t want to be pregnant.

It’s no secret, at this point, that the “pro-life” movement gives zero shits about the health or life quality of people once they’re born and that their supposedly moral concern for fetuses is really only about controlling women. But to erect a post-Roe v. Wade victory statue to gloat about your win for “life,” when you’re not even pretending to care about the living people in your state, is a whole new level of hypocrisy.