Parts of this article (those related to the constitutionality of governments offering "Choose Life" license plates) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2015)
Choose Life license plates are specialty license plates available in 34 states and the District of Columbia[1][2] in the United States that express a pro-life message. The plates are the concept of Choose Life, Inc., a pro-life advocacy group based in Ocala, Florida.[3] It was founded in 1997 by Randy Harris, a Marion County commissioner, after being inspired by an environmental license plate on the car in front of him to use specialty license plates as a way to raise funds for crisis pregnancy centers, which are nonprofit organizations established to inform and give aid to women during an unplanned pregnancy.[4] The plates feature the phrase "Choose Life", a slogan used by the pro-life movement, and a Microsoft Paint style drawing of two children.[4]
In 1997, Choose Life, Inc. collected the 10,000 signatures and US$30,000 required under Florida law at the time to submit an application for a new specialty plate, and State Senator Tom Lee sponsored a bill in support of the tag's creation.[4] The bill passed both houses of the Florida Legislature in early 1998, but was vetoed by then-Governor Lawton Chiles, who stated that license plates are not the "proper forum for debate" on political issues.[4][5] While campaigning for the governorship later in 1998, Jeb Bush stated that, if elected, he would sign a Choose Life bill if approved by the legislature.[4] Choose Life, Inc. went forward with the plate application again, and, after passing both houses, Governor Bush signed it into law on June 8, 1999.[4][6][7] Since then, Choose Life, Inc. has been active in helping groups in other states pursue "Choose Life" license plates.[8][9] As of April 30, 2010, Choose Life, Inc. reported that Choose Life license plates had raised over $12 million.[10] On June 21, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed House Bill 501, which directs the funds from the plates directly to Choose Life, Inc.[11]
Choose Life, Inc. is a non-profit organization, funded by donations and the sale of promotional items, such as T-shirts and neckties.[4][9] A specialty license plate can cost an additional $25 – US$70 per year. Allocation of funds varies by state but funds typically go to crisis pregnancy centers, which are nonprofit organizations established to counsel women against receiving abortions.
States with Choose Life license plates
As of 2023, Choose Life license plates are available in 34 states and the District of Columbia:[2]
Michigan: In 2017, Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a bill proposing the plates, citing "the potential to bitterly divide millions of Michiganders".[21]
New York: Litigation spanned several years between the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and the Department of Motor Vehicles. In 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Children First Foundation, Inc. v. Fiala that the DMV's policy to exclude controversial, politically sensitive messages was reasonable and viewpoint-neutral. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Walker v. Texas Division, which affirmed that license plates are government speech, the ADF did not pursue further appeals, and the exclusion of the plates was upheld.[22]
Rhode Island: Gov. Lincoln Chafee vetoed a bill proposing the plates, citing the inappropriateness of using state license plates to fund religious initiatives.[1]
Reaction and criticism
"Choose Life" license plates have been criticized by abortion rights organizations, which have argued that in authorizing them, but not offering plates conveying a pro-abortion rights message at the same time, states have carried out viewpoint discrimination.[23][24] To this charge, Russ Amerling, Choose Life, Inc.'s publicity coordinator, replied that "[abortion rights groups] have just as much right to have a plate as we do, as long as they go through the same process we did and not try to piggy-back onto the various states' Choose Life bills". He also said that no "[abortion rights groups] have ever applied for a plate of their own in any state, until an [anti-abortion group] applied for a 'Choose Life' plate."[9]
Prior to 2015, federal circuit courts were split on the constitutionality of "Choose Life" specialty plates. The Fourth Circuit had previously held that issuing an anti-abortion plate without offering a pro-abortion rights equivalent constituted impermissible viewpoint discrimination.[25][26] Conversely, the Sixth Circuit held that such plates constituted government speech and were therefore permissible.[27]
In June 2015, the United States Supreme Court resolved this split in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Court ruled 5–4 that specialty license plate designs constitute government speech rather than private speech. As a result, states are not required by the First Amendment to maintain viewpoint neutrality on license plates. This ruling effectively allows states to approve "Choose Life" plates without being legally compelled to offer a corresponding "Pro-Choice" plate, and conversely allows states to reject "Choose Life" plates if they deem the message controversial or inconsistent with state policy.[28] Following Walker, the Supreme Court vacated the Fourth Circuit's previous ruling against North Carolina's plates, and the state began issuing them in 2016.[29]
A small number of states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, have offered license plates that support pro-choice organizations or messages.
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