Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a proclamation in December that officially declares January 22 as a “Day of Tears in Arkansas” in commemoration of all the preborn lives lost to abortion.
The proclamation follows the passage of H.C.R 1007 in 2021, which declared that “January 22 should be recognized in perpetuity as the ‘Day of Tears’ in Arkansas.” On this day, residents are encouraged to lower flags to half-staff to “mourn the innocent unborn children who have lost their lives to abortion.” January 22 marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which passed in 1973 and which made abortion legal in the entire country before its overturn in 2022.
The proclamation also reads: “In Act 310 of 2023 the 94th General Assembly estimated that during that time at least two hundred thirty-six thousand, two hundred forty-three (236,243) elective abortions occurred in this State [since Roe v. Wade], jeopardizing the health and safety of pregnant women and depriving these unborn children of their respective rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Representative DeAnn Vaught co-sponsored the original Day of Tears legislation in 2021. “It is an honor to be a part of the Day of Tears resolution. It truly is sobering to think of all the generations of families that never came to fruition due to one abortion. As pro-lifers we have to do more to show young ladies, who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, love and compassion. We also need to become more proactive in educating these ladies that there is a family who has prayed for that precious gift that she is carrying,” she said at the time.
Abortion in the state has been illegal in most cases since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. In addition to protecting preborn children in the womb, Arkansas lawmakers voted in December to allow the state Department of Finance to administer $1 million in taxpayer funds to pregnancy resource centers that support pregnant mothers and young families. Sanders also signed a bill last March allowing for the erection of a monument that will commemorate the lives of preborn children lost to abortion in the state.
