WASHINGTON (BP)–The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for Louisiana to continue to sell “Choose Life” auto license plates.
The high court rejected Dec. 2 an appeal by abortion-rights advocates, thereby allowing a federal appeals court ruling in favor of the pro-life plates to stand.
A 1999 state law established the specialty plate, which features the words “Choose Life” and the depiction of a baby in a blanket held in the beak of a pelican, Louisiana’s state bird, according to The New Orleans Times-Picayune. After legal delays, the plate went on sale Nov. 1, and 192 of the licenses have been sold since then, The Times-Picayune reported.
Six other states — Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina — have approved similar pro-life plates, according to the newspaper.
The “Choose Life” plate costs $61.50 for two years, in addition to the normal license fee, the newspaper reported. From this cost, $25 will go each year to the state for distribution to organizations that offer abortion alternatives, such as adoption agencies and crisis pregnancy centers, according to the report.
In 2000, a federal judge blocked the state from issuing the plates. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision earlier this year, ruling the abortion-rights advocates seeking to bar the plates did not have standing to sue, The Times-Picayune reported.
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: CHOOSE LIFE.
