State Government and Public Memorials

Tennessee lawmakers are moving ahead with a privately funded granite memorial for unborn children on the state Capitol grounds, set for installation June 24 to coincide with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade’s overturning, after a $4,000 private donation approved last August restarted the long-delayed project. Backed by Republican Sen. Janice Bowling and opposed by Democratic legislators including Rep. John Ray Clemmons and Rep. Heidi Campbell, the cemetery-style marker is intended as a place of reflection and closure but has sparked criticism that it stigmatizes abortion and signals state endorsement of a particular position on reproductive rights.