A new face for the abortion debate
December 10, 2008 12:54:00
by Anna
Web Correspondent
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund
It never ceases to surprise me how the abortion debate manages to sneak into every aspect of American society. The latest notable example: License plates.
Before a few days ago, I knew nothing about the “Choose Life” license plate issue—or that it even was an issue. I spend most of my time in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and none of these states sell “Choose Life” license plates. As it turns out, though, these anti-choice plates are alive and well in eighteen other states.
Buying a “Choose Life” license plate has bigger implications than simply attaching your abortion views to your car; these plates cost more than a standard license plate, and the extra money goes to anti-choice organizations like CPCs, “crisis pregnancy centers”—organizations that lure women in by promising comprehensive pregnancy services but actually bombard these women with anti-choice lectures and pamphlets. These “clinics” have no medical legitimacy and function solely as peddlers of anti-choice ideology.
Another thing we need to question here is the acceptability of working through state governments to promote such a morally loaded message. Specifically, is it a violation of the separation of church and state? Does production of these license plates imply anti-choice support on the part of governments?
All of these issues came to the forefront during a court battle in Illinois over whether or not the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, should be required to accept an application for “Choose Life” license plate production. Choose Life, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois when White’s office denied the organization’s request to produce specialty plates, and initially, a District Court ruled in favor of Choose Life. But in the Seventh Circuit federal appeals court, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was successful in reversing the decision. The federal court’s reasoning? The government is being neutral by denying “Choose Life” license plate production, since they do not produce pro-choice license plates either. Also, “messages on specialty license plates give the appearance of having the government’s endorsement, and Illinois does not wish to be perceived as endorsing any position on the subject of abortion.”
But opposing rulings have occurred in the recent past as well. In January, separate federal court declared that both Missouri and Arizona were censoring anti-abortion organizations’ right to free speech by refusing to produce “Choose Life” plates, and both states have offered them since. The tug-of-war continues.
What really gets me about all of this is that, as far as I can tell, only two states—Hawaii and Montana—offer pro-choice license plates (anyone else know of other states that do?). Governments are only really being neutral, and varying opinions are only really being represented, if drivers have more than one option.
Trackback: http://www.plannedparenthoodadvocate.org/trackback/519/iE2k9D04/
Normally I just ignore some of these postings, but this one contains so many inaccuracies and displays of ignorance about abortion law, that I cannot let it go.
(1) It is well-established constitutional law that states are not required to be neutral on the subject of abortion. A state’s policies can express its preference for childbirth over abortion. No case, including Roe, ever required neutrality on the part of the state.
(2) To state that all CPCs use misleading tactics and have no medical legitimacy is a sloppy overly-broad statement.
(3) The notion that “Choose Life” license plates have anything to do with the separation of church and state is absurd and already rejected by courts.
(4) That you had not heard of these license plates until a few days ago indicates that you have not done a good job of familiarizing yourself with abortion or the tactics of your opponents.
By Puhlease on 11/12/2008
