Proposed License Tag Widens Florida’s Chasm on Abortion

Does the childlike drawing of two smiling tots and the words “choose life” turn a license plate into a provocative bumper sticker?

Can specialty plates saying “legalize marijuana” or “prayer in school” be far behind?

Those questions may be on the mind of Gov. Lawton Chiles this week as he considers signing a bill that opponents argue would make Florida the first state to let drivers express their anti-abortion sentiments on a license plate.

“This is clearly a message that advances a political agenda,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a south Florida Democrat and abortion-rights supporter. “And the message is so divisive that it could end up generating road rage. That’s a danger.”

She was among 21 of the 34 women in the Florida House--including four Republicans--who tried to change the slogan to “adopt a child.” Most of the $20 annual fee for the tags would go to nonprofit groups that counsel and pay living costs of women who give up their children for adoption.

But efforts to change the message or kill the bill failed, and the “choose life” slogan passed by comfortable margins last week in the Florida House and Senate. Chiles, an abortion rights Democrat who last year vetoed an anti-abortion bill, has until May 15 to sign the measure, veto it or let the bill become law without his signature.

State Rep. Tom Feeney, an Orlando Republican who sponsored the bill, dismissed fears of road rage as “a silly argument,” when people have bumper stickers more outrageous. “I’m surprised by the reaction to the tag. People are not required to have it.”

A majority of the 50 states charge premium fees for specialty plates that raise money for a host of causes, including wildlife preservation, professional sports teams and education. Most specialty plates reflect personal interests or allegiances and are not controversial, although the Confederate flag has ignited heated debate in Maryland, for example.

In California, the varied designs and colors of some of the seven specialty plates available, including the top-selling Yosemite National Park plate, have proved to be unpopular with law enforcement officers, who say the tags are hard to read. The state Senate has imposed a moratorium on creating specialty plates.

In defense of the “choose life” wording, Feeney contends that by inference the message “concedes that, from a legal position, abortion is a right.” He said he would oppose a plate that urged outlawing abortions.

Still, some see a dangerous precedent in providing motorists with a government-issued instrument to state their views on a topic as incendiary as abortion. “There are people in this state who have died over this issue,” said state Sen. Daryl Jones, a Democrat.

Florida has been rocked by violence over the abortion issue. Earlier this decade, two north Florida doctors who performed abortions were slain, and clinics in several regions have been bombed.

Although backers of the “choose life” plate insist that children, not politics or morality, are the issue, the Ocala group that paid $30,000 and collected 10,000 signatures to bring the measure to the Legislature is avowedly anti-abortion.

If the “choose life” option is offered to motorists, 70% of the fees collected would be spent on food, clothing and housing for pregnant women seeking to place their unborn children, and 30% on adoption counseling.

Florida’s two top-selling specialty plates--of 40 now available--support programs designed to aid the endangered manatee and the Florida panther. Last year, those brought in more than $6 million, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Florida has 38 other specialty plates, including those in support of each Florida university, all the state’s professional sports franchises, agriculture, the Olympics, military veterans and the large-mouth bass.