Holmes elected to serve as the President of the Arkansas Right to Life, an organization devoted virtually exclusively to outlawing abortion. Holmes also chose to hold the position of the Secretary of the Unborn Child Amendment Committee, which advanced a constitutional amendment to the Arkansas Constitution that prohibits the use of public funds for abortion unless the woman’s life was in danger. Holmes’ involvement with these organizations has not been limited to these positions – he himself has served as their counsel.
Holmes has explained his support for a constitutional amendment that would outlaw abortion, saying that “the abortion issue is the simplest issue this country has faced since slavery was made unconstitutional and it deserves the same response.” He also dismissed concerns that a constitutional amendment banning abortion would not allow the procedure in cases of rape by saying that the “concern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami.” In his writings, Holmes has even twice compared abortion to the Holocaust.
If these examples of Holmes’ hostility to a woman’s right to choose were not enough, Holmes also represented an individual who was convicted of trespassing on the premises of a physician’s clinic. Holmes advocated that his client’s trespass was justified by a “choice of evils” defense because he was trying to inform women entering the clinic about the harmful effects of abortion. The court rejected Holmes’ argument and refused to allow the defense.
– Planned Parenthood