BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Massachusetts is now offering specialty pro-life license plates, thanks to the efforts of the Massachusetts Choose Life organization.
The plates have the words "Choose Life" written in black beneath the number, and an illustration of a mother cradling an infant beside the number. They are available on the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles website.
There is an initial registration fee of $50 plus a special plate fee of $40 to order the plates. Twenty-eight dollars of the special plate fee goes to Choose Life, Inc., which will distribute the funds to Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
It costs $90 to renew the plates after two years, $40 of which will go to Choose Life, Inc.
Massachusetts joins at least 24 other states that either offer or will soon offer pro-life license plates. The first "Choose Life" pro-life specialty plate was made available in Florida, and has raised over $5 million.
Andrea Miller, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, opposed the plates, saying she fears they "will funnel money to organizations that provide false, misleading, medically inaccurate, and in fact disproven information to women who have unintended pregnancies."
But NARAL was unable to bring its legislative clout to bear to prevent the pro-life plates: legislative approval is not required in Massachusetts to create specialty tags. Any registered charitable organization can get a special license plate so long as they collect applications and fees from at least 1,500 drivers who want the plates and post a $100,000 bond to guard the state against loss. The bond is returned if more than 3,000 of the plates sell within two years.
