The Michigan Senate approved a bill today to allow motorists to purchase Choose Life license plates. The specialty plates would send a portion of the proceeds for the purchase of the plate to groups that provide women with abortion alternatives. Legislators approved the bill on a 26-11 vote.
Republicans defeated an amendment to have a corresponding pro-abortion plate to raise funds for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business.
Sponsoring Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton, called the vote a choice “to support the most vulnerable in our society — pregnant mothers and the child within their womb.”
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“The Choose Life message is a simple message. It is a message of love. It’s love for baby in the womb, love for the mother facing an unplanned pregnancy and love for a nation founded the principle that governments are instituted to secure our unalienable right to life,” he said.
Right to Life pitched the proposed plates in committee last month, noting that Michigan is the only state on the I-75 corridor running down to Florida without them. More than two dozen states offer similar fundraising plates.
“This legislation is about unleashing generosity,” legislative director Ed Rivet said during committee testimony. “The pro-life movement is already well practiced in that regard.”
The plates would cost $35 on top of regular registration fees, including a $25 donation and $10 service fee. Proceeds would be directed to a new fund, which would be responsible for covering state startup costs and distributing grants.
“The overarching goal it to make sure that we’ve got life-affirming policies and resources put in place for mothers that are finding themselves in not ideal situations,” sponsoring Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton, said.
“..It actually provides those services, and support services necessary to support women who’ve made the choice to go off and support life.”
Naturally, pro-abortion groups, calling themselves “pro-choice” oppose the plates and Amanda West, director of government relations for Planned Parenthood of Michigan, demanded a plate funding abortions.
