Georgia Choose Life License Plate Bill Gets Vote on Friday
by Paul Nowak
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
March 11, 2004
Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) — Legislation to create a "Choose Life" license plate will get a vote Friday in the Georgia Motor Vehicle Committee. However, if a proposed amendment also passes, the plate will become a pro-abortion instead of a pro-adoption plate.
"The bill proposes that Choose Life license plates be available for any person who wishes to support adoption agencies and pregnancy centers to encourage adoption as a positive choice for women with unplanned pregnancies," Georgia Right to Life said in a statement.
HB 630, sponsored by Jack White (R-Blue Ridge), proposes that Choose Life license plates be made available for any person who wishes show support of agencies that encourage adoption as a positive choice for women with unplanned pregnancies. From the extra $25 fee $10 would go to the Choose Life Trust Fund, to be distributed to not-for-profit agencies whose services include counseling and meeting the physical needs of pregnant women in who are committed to placing their children for adoption.
"It’s not about abortion or an abortion debate; it’s about helping women, kids, and parents," White told the Catoosa County News. "I’m not out crusading; I’m out to help families in my district."
"Georgia’s unique method of approving specialty plates requires legislative approval and then voter ratification at the polls the following year," Russ Amerling, spokesperson for Choose Life, Inc. told LifeNews.com. "Choose Life, Inc. believes the opportunity to approve this plate should be afforded Georgia’s citizens. Current estimates indicate this plate would raise $350,000 a year for adoption efforts in Georgia."
Under Georgia law, funds from sales of auto tags must go directly into the state’s general fund. In order to direct the money to a special cause, a constitutional amendment must be approved.
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 Sites:
Georgia Right to Life – https://www.grtl.org
Choose Life, Inc. – https://www.choose-life.org
