A bill that would have allowed the California government to design pro abortion license plates failed in committee earlier this month. The bill passed the Senate (SB 309) earlier this year and was sponsored in the Senate by liberal Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara).
According to OneNewsNow, the bill “would create a specialty license plate to generate money for groups that promote and support abortion, including feminist organizations. The measure directs that revenue generated by sale of the plates be used by the Family PACT program which, among other things, funds Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.”
California Pro Life Council Executive Director Brian Johnston testified in front of the committee against the bill. “It’s a government-sponsored industry,” he said, “and these folks are here to get more government money. This government-sponsored industry brings great pressure against young mothers. And if this is about choice – the other choice is letting the child live.”
Johnston also said that taxpayers should have pro life alternatives available to them when choosing a license plate as well.
“Thirty-seven states have license plates that affirm life,” he noted. “And we would suggest, in order to make this a balanced bill and not an ideological one, there would be license plates offered to affirm the choice to keep the child and care for that vulnerable child.”
It appears that the cost of creating the license plates is the reason behind why the bill was blocked in committee. The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimated that the cost of creating the license plates would be roughly $590,000. The state would have paid for the license plates’ creation costs by selling them.
Pro lifers in California urged lawmakers to reject the bill, or at the least offer a pro-life alternative.
Senator Jackson’s bill would have created a license plate design with the words, “California Trusts Women” displayed prominently. “Trust women” is a phrase that late term abortionist George Tiller used often to advocate for his grisly work.
Thirty seven states currently have license plates that protect or affirm life. Thirty states have the “Choose Life” plates available as an option to motorists. California is not one of those states, and has no group working on getting the “Choose Life” license plates approved and available.
