September 14, 2001

By Cindy Hanford, Staff Writer

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which recognized women's constitutional right to abortion, women's rights advocates have been forced to fight off attempts to limit reproductive freedom, not only in the courts, in the streets outside women's clinics and in the U.S. Congress, but in every state legislature.  Stealth state-by-state legislative strategies by the religious right have resulted in a variety of laws that limit accessibility to reproductive health care, including contraception, particularly for young women and women without financial resources.

One current piece of anti-abortion legislation making its way through state legislatures is an attempt to have states endorse an anti-choice message — and put that message on the backs of automobiles — through "Choose Life" license plate tags.  (Note how the far right co-opts the language of the pro-choice movement.)  Anti-abortion groups in 35 states are working to promote "Choose Life" plates, with legislation already introduced in 12 states for the 2001 legislative session.

So far, two states have already passed such legislation -- Louisiana and Florida.  On August 8 in New Orleans, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments on a preliminary injunction which blocks the production and distribution of Louisiana's "Choose Life" plates.  The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy argued that the preliminary injunction should remain in place pending a decision from a federal district court judge on the merits of the original suit to stop their production. 

In August 2000, U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval temporarily blocked distribution of the Louisiana plates, ruling that free speech provisions of the Constitution require license plate designs to be neutral.  Duval stated, "To provide through legislation for only one viewpoint to be expressed on such a polemical topic is very likely an unconstitutional restraint of free speech as it restricts the forum to only one view . that being the view of the state." In June, the Louisiana House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected the production of a pro-choice plate. The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy filed the suit to stop the plates (Henderson v. Stadler) on behalf of the National Council of Jewish Women, a rabbi and two residents of New Orleans.  

In addition to making a political statement, every tag sold will help to fund anti-abortion rights forces.  In Florida (the only state where plates are currently being distributed), $20 of the license plate fee will go to organizations which provide counseling and support to pregnant women "who are committed to placing their children up for adoption."  The law states that "funds may not be distributed to any agency that is involved or associated with abortion activities, including counseling for or referrals to abortion clinics...."  The program would provide no money to women who wish to keep their children, thus, in effect, creating strong pressure on pregnant women to make only one "choice": give birth and relinquish their babies.  
 
In Tallahassee on March 1, attorneys for Florida NOW appeared in Leon County Circuit Court in an effort to recall the "Choose Life" plates.  Florida NOW, a Palm Beach County synagogue and three other plaintiffs asked Circuit Judge Nikki Ann Clark to ban the plates, arguing that they violate free speech and constitutional provisions separating church and state. The suit asks Clark to recall the 13,000 plates already on cars. The judge still has not ruled on the case, and the plates continue to be distributed. 

The law creating the plates was first passed in Florida in 1998, but was vetoed by then- Governor Lawton Chiles, a Democrat.  In 1999, the legislation passed again and was signed into law by Republican Governor Jeb Bush.  Florida NOW immediately sued the state of Florida to prevent distribution, but the case languished in a Palm Beach County court and tags were released to the public in August 2000.  The case was later transferred to Judge Clark's court in Leon County. 

Choose Life, Inc., the group that lobbied for the plates, argued that "Choose Life" is a message meant to encourage adoption.  But the group refused compromise efforts to substitute language in support of adoption.  Quoted by the Associated Press, Florida NOW's lawyer Barry Silver said the license plate's proponents purposefully chose an anti-abortion message.  Silver stated, "They could have passed a license plate that said 'Adopt A Child' and we wouldn't be here [in court]." 
 
As a plaintiff, Florida NOW argues that the phrase "Choose Life" is so closely related to the anti-abortion movement that people could assume the state agrees with that sentiment, even though abortion is constitutionally protected in Florida.  Clinic escorts with experience shielding patients from anti-abortion protestors testified in court that "Choose Life" is a common slogan used by the protestors, frequently on the same signs with "Abortion Kills."

Tallahassee NOW President and attorney Linda Miklowitz represented Florida NOW at the March 1 hearing. She stated, "Neither Florida NOW nor anyone who respects separation of church and state wants to take away anyone's choice of how to express themselves religiously and politically on their cars. All we are saying is that the state shouldn't get involved in this fight with an official license plate. . . .Use all the bumper stickers you want. They have no official state endorsement, especially one that conflicts with existing law that permits abortion."

Activists working to stop "Choose Life" license plate legislation in their state and needing legal arguments against it, may contact Linda Miklowitz; c/o Tallahassee NOW;  P.O. Box 47;  Tallahassee FL 32302-0047; TallahNOW@aol.com. To track the status of this stealth legislation state by state, you can go to the Choose Life web site at www.choose-life.org.