Iowa approves issuance of 'Choose Life' license plates

UPDATE: Iowa joined a growing list of states to approve a "Choose Life" license plate after the transportation department determined the message doesn't violate content criteria.

Iowa becomes the 29th state to approve the plate, which has a drawing of two smiling children, the Des Moines Register reported (http://dmreg.co/Iwyiio) Thursday night. The transportation department announced the plans on Thursday.

The Des Moines-based anti-abortion group Iowa Right to Life is behind the campaign for the plate approval, and a Florida-based group called Choose Life America is leading the national drive.

"This is great news for Iowa's unborn," state Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, a proponent of the plates.

State Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, an abortion-rights advocate, said the DOT's decision "complicates things a little bit." Although she has some concerns about using state-issued license plates to promote a particular issue, she said she wants to be sensitive to free speech.

The transportation department issues dozens of specialty plates for issues, such as breast cancer awareness, military service and state universities and colleges, but this is the first involving an issue as sensitive as abortion.

The agency prohibits politically oriented specialty plates that specifically endorse a political candidate, but officials don't believe the Choose Life message violates the criteria, said DOT spokeswoman Dena Gray-Fisher.

If groups supporting other politically sensitive topics - such as abortion rights or gay rights - want license plates promoting their causes, their applications also will be considered, she said.

Officials with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Iowa's largest provider of abortion services, declined to comment.

Jenifer Bowen, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, said the message is intended to make a softer, nonconfrontational statement about abortion.

"It is hopefully invoking something in the people who see it that there are other choices," she said. "It is definitely not abrasive or offensive."

The opportunity for Iowa motorists to secure Choose Life plates wouldn't have been possible without help from Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, a longtime abortion foe, Bowen said.

Supporters unsuccessfully had sought legislation to use the plates over the past decade. But Branstad, who returned to office in January 2011, helped secure approval through administrative channels, Bowen said.

Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht confirmed that the governor's office helped the plate's supporters navigate the bureaucratic process.

Randall Wilson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said the only "raised eyebrow" he has about the Choose Life plates is whether Branstad might have bent the rules for one organization because he agrees with its message more than others.

"But all things being on the up and up, we agree that anyone should be able to get a specialty plate," he added.

Under DOT rules, proponents have one year to obtain 500 applications for the plates, which cost $25 more than regular fees for motor vehicle registrations. Bowen said she anticipates no problem securing the applications, noting that more than 50 people immediately expressed interest.

The additional fees raised by the license plate will go the Iowa's road construction fund.