U.S. Appeals Court to Decide on Fate of Arizona's 'Choose Life' Plates

By Lawrence D. Jones, Christian Post Reporter Friday, October 19, 2007

A federal appeals court is considering whether to allow the sale and distribution of a specialty license plate in Arizona that reads "Choose Life."

Proceeds from the license plate would benefit Arizona Life Coalition, which requested the plate four years ago but was denied by the Arizona License Plate Commission. A federal court in Phoenix upheld the state's decision in 2005.

On Monday, the Alliance Defense Fund and Center for Arizona Policy, two groups representing the Coalition, argued before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Jeff Shafer, senior legal counsel with the ADF, told judges that state is discriminating against the pro-life group and their point of view.

"State officials engaged in viewpoint discrimination when they chose to reject the 'Choose Life' license plate design but accepted the designs of other groups," Shafer said earlier in a statement.

He also argued that the state has yet to give a reason for denying the group's license plate application.

"And the judges really picked up on that issue in the argument yesterday," noted Shafter in a OneNewsNow report.

"They were making quite an issue of the fact that this Commission, which is obligated by law to review these organization applications, turned down Life Coalition but refused – explicitly refused – to give a reason as to why they were doing so," he added.

Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, noted that seventeen other states currently have similar license plates.

Two officials with the Arizona Department of Transportation said that for a group to qualify for a specialty plate, it must serve the community and contribute to the welfare of others, reported CBS 5 News in Phoenix.

A letter to the editor of Arizona Republic before Monday's hearing pointed to the "unborn child" as the beneficiary of the plates.

"We already have an optional license plate to select with a donation that goes to helping children. It reads, 'It Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child,'" wrote J. Magden, from Scottsdale.

"Since when does it not matter if we hurt children who are just a little younger? It shouldn't hurt to be a child on either side of the womb," she added.

It is expected to take several months before the Ninth Circuit announces a decision.