Choose Life license plates are specialty license plates available in 34 states and the District of Columbia 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. 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. The plates feature the phrase "Choose Life", a slogan used by the pro-life movement, and a Microsoft Paint style drawing of two children.
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. 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. 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. 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. Since then, Choose Life, Inc. has been active in helping groups in other states pursue "Choose Life" license plates. As of April 30, 2010, Choose Life, Inc. reported that Choose Life license plates had raised over $12 million. On June 21, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed House Bill 501, which directs the funds from the plates directly to Choose Life, Inc.
Choose Life, Inc. is a non-profit organization, funded by donations and the sale of promotional items, such as T-shirts and neckties. A specialty license plate can cost an additional $25 â 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.
As of 2023, Choose Life license plates are available in 34 states and the District of Columbia:
"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. 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."
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. Conversely, the Sixth Circuit held that such plates constituted government speech and were therefore permissible.
In June 2015, the United States Supreme Court resolved this split in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Court ruled 5âÂÂ4 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. 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.
A small number of states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, have offered license plates that support pro-choice organizations or messages.https://washingtonian.com/2022/08/09/virginia-drivers-are-buying-more-pro-choice-license-plates/