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Washington D.C., May 11, 2021 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Louisiana state legislature last week passed a resolution recognizing Jan. 22, 2022, the 49th anniversary of legalized abortion throughout the United States, as a “Day of Tears.” 

“This week we passed a resolution calling for a Day of Tears in Louisiana,” state Sen. Beth Mizell (R), who introduced the resolution, said May 10 in a statement provided to CNA. 

The May 4 passing of the resolution recognizes Jan. 22, 2022, as a “Day of Tears” in the state, and citizens are encouraged to lower their flags to half-staff on that day to mourn unborn children who have lost their lives from abortion.

“As a pro-life state we must continue to bring attention to the loss of innocent lives from abortions yearly.  Let us work together to demonstrate that we value life and strive to protect the unborn,” Mizell said.

The “Day of Tears” resolution is a campaign for states to officially recognize the tragedy of legalized abortion in America. The Day of Tears, Inc. is a national pro-life organization that aims to introduce and enact resolutions similar to Louisiana’s in states around the country.

“Louisiana joins Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama in recognizing January 22nd as the Day of Tears,” wrote the organization, Day of Tears in a May 5 press release. “Similar Resolutions have been introduced in the US Senate and the US House of Representatives,” they said. Earlier this year, legislatures in both Arkansas and Alabama passed “Day of Tears” resolutions.

The Louisiana resolution said that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, “erroneously ruled that abortion was a right secured by the Constitution of the United States of America.” 

“Since that ill-fated day,” the resolution said, “over sixty-one million pre-born children in the 9 United States have perished.”

The legislation comes amid what one pro-life leaders calls an “unprecedented surge” of pro-life bills at the state level.

According to a report published April 30 by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 536 pro-life bills have been introduced in 46 states in the year 2021, with 61 new pro-life laws.

“The unprecedented surge of pro-life activity in state legislatures this year proves life is winning in America,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, stated following the report. She said that the state bills include bans on abortions after five months of pregnancy and bans on abortions conducted solely because of prenatal diagnoses such as Down syndrome.