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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee House has passed a bill that calls for a monument to unborn children to be placed on the state capitol grounds.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law, private funds would be raised for a monument to victims of abortion.

The House passed it by a vote of 63-15 this week following a brief debate that got so heated that Speaker Beth Harwell had to demand order.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jerry Sexton, a Republican from Bean Station.

Democrats from Nashville demanded to know why there was a need for such a monument because there is a memorial for children who have died at Centennial Park.

Sexton said that, unlike the park memorial, the capitol monument would be for those who were never born.