Discussion over Arkansas abortion monument continues

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Uncertainty continued Tuesday over a proposed “monument to the unborn” at the Arkansas State Capitol.

Members of the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission expressed frustration with artist Lakey Goff, who’s been chosen to design the monument. Goff wants the monument to be a living wall, with growing plants and waterfall noises. In the past, commission members have said the design could be too expensive, difficult to maintain and may not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Members of the commission on Tuesday sparred with Goff after she submitted a design in a different location than the Secretary of State's office requested.

Discussion over Arkansas abortion monument continues

Capitol Arts And Grounds Commission

Artist Lakey Goff's drawing of the living wall serving as a "monument to the unborn" at the Arkansas State Capitol.

Arkansas commission members clash over abortion monument funding

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A state commission continues its work to develop a “Monument to The Unborn” on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol. Recently, confusion has sprung up over how to keep the monument funded and maintained.

In a meeting Tuesday, artist Lakey Goff, was determined to work out the logistical problems with the monument, while architect and Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission member Tony Leraris says the problems are bigger than she realizes.

Last year, the state legislature passed a law to put a memorial for aborted fetuses on the Capitol grounds. The memorial is supposed to celebrate the effective end of legal abortion in Arkansas after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Per the law, the monument is required to be funded through private donations, but says the Secretary of State can use other money from “maintenance and repair of monuments” if no other funds exist. It’s unclear how this would work since the state doesn't have a set fund for monument maintenance.

Arkansas commission members clash over abortion monument funding

Courtesy Photo/Capitol Arts And Grounds Commission

Artist Lakey Goff feels funding for the concave wall of plants will come, while members of the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission were skeptical.

Design for Arkansas "Monument to the Unborn" revealed

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A state committee continues its work to build a pro-life memorial on the Arkansas Capitol grounds.

The “Monument to the Unborn” was created through a law the legislature passed in 2023. Bill sponsor Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, said the monument would be “tastefully done.” He wanted the memorial to celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which immediately made abortion illegal in Arkansas.

The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission along with the Secretary of State are responsible for installing the monument. Last year, the group sifted through submissions from artists across the state. On Tuesday, the commission landed on a living flora wall, put forth by artist Lakey Goff.

Design for Arkansas "Monument to the Unborn" revealed

Capitol Arts And Grounds Commission/Screenshot

A rendering by artist Lakey Goff shows the proposed monument, with flower boxes on both sides.

Finding a tasteful design for Arkansas' 'monument to the unborn' has been fraught

By Josie Lenora

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

An Arkansas bill allowing for a so-called monument to the unborn on Arkansas State Capitol grounds was signed into law last spring. The monument is intended to memorialize the abortions performed in the state during the nearly 50 years the procedure was legal under Roe v. Wade, but the law does not specify what an appropriate memorial would look like. And as Little Rock Public Radio's Josie Lenora reports, this has led to some debate and discomfort over what design to choose for such a public and political piece of art.

JOSIE LENORA: The memorial is supposed to celebrate the end of legal abortion in the state. Here's Senator Kim Hammer, a Republican lawmaker from the suburbs of Little Rock, giving his pitch for the monument to the Arkansas legislature back in March.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KIM HAMMER: It is a monument that is recognizing the 236,243-plus babies that were never born as a result of Roe v. Wade.

Finding a tasteful design for Arkansas' 'monument to the unborn' has been fraught

Commission recommends design for ‘monument to the unborn’ at Arkansas Capitol

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

Courtesy Photo

One of two proposals submitted by artist Nilda Comas.

From the Arkansas Advocate:

A panel on Tuesday voted to recommend a living wall of flora and fauna be constructed on the Arkansas Capitol grounds as a “monument to the unborn” in accordance with a new state law.

Approved by the Legislature in March, Act 310 authorizes the secretary of state to decide where to place “a suitable monument commemorating unborn children aborted during the era of Roe v. Wade.”

Courtesy Photo

One of two proposals submitted by artist Nilda Comas.

Abortion has been illegal in Arkansas, except to save the life of the mother, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin in November rejected ballot language for a proposed constitutional amendment intended to ensure a limited right to abortion in the state.

Commission recommends design for ‘monument to the unborn’ at Arkansas Capitol

Michael Hibblen/Little Rock Public Radio

A "monument to the unborn" was approved by Arkansas lawmakers this week.