Connecticut Drivers Can Now Purchase Choose Life License Plate
by Maria Gallagher
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
February 24, 2004
Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) — Connecticut drivers are taking advantage of a new program which allows them to show their support for life — and for adoption.
Five months ago, the state began offering "Choose Life" license plates to benefit adoption. The auto tag features a drawing of two children and the slogan "Choose Life."
Some 125 plates have been sold so far at a price of $65 each. Money raised from the plates go to pregnancy help centers which provide brochures about adoption and trained counselors who wish to show pregnant women that adoption is a loving option for their babies.
"Less than 2% of women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy choose the course of adoption," said Elizabeth Rex, president of the New York-based group Children First, which supports ‘Choose Life’ license plate efforts.
"The purpose of The Children First Foundation and of our ‘Choose Life’ license plate in Connecticut is to help raise funds and public awareness of the fact that adoption is an excellent and positive choice for women with unplanned and unwanted pregnancies," Rex said.
The Norwich Bulletin newspaper reports that about $1,000 has been raised from the sale of the Connecticut tag so far.
A spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles told the newspaper that the state agency has not received any complaints about the tags. Pro-abortion forces in other states with the pro-life plates have claimed that such tags violate the free-speech rights of those who support abortion.
A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Connecticut told the Norwich Bulletin that her organization would not be protesting the Connecticut plate.
"There are reasons why it has been more controversial in other states — some pro-choice organizations have tried to get plates and have been blocked by the legislature," Susan Yolen told the newspaper. That has not happened in Connecticut.
It has been estimated that about 40,000 "Choose Life" plates have been sold across the country. Nationally, the tags have raised some $2.6 million to help pay for adoption services, health care and other expenses for pregnant women considering adoption, and other abortion alternatives.
Florida’s "Choose Life" plates have generated $2 million of that revenue, and according to the FL DMV, the "Choose Life" plates were the #9 top selling specialty plates among 89 in that state in the past 12 months.
Ten states currently have plates on residents’ cars: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland, and Louisiana, and Montana.
Tennessee and South Carolina have approved "Choose Life" plates, but have not yet made them available to motorists.
Related web sites:
Connecticut Choose Life Plates – https://www.ctchoose-life.org
Choose Life, Inc. – https://www.choose-life.org
