Tiny billboards all across Georgia proclaim “Choose Life.” Yes, tiny. And no, they are not up in the treetops along the Interstates or wedged between downtown buildings. They are on the bumpers of almost 4000 cars. They are Choose Life license plates.
Since 2007 pro-life Georgians have paid a bit extra to spread this message of life as they drive. In doing so, they also have contributed more than $300,000 to Georgia pregnancy centers where over 18,000 women have chosen adoption or parenting over abortion in the last ten years.
The legislation to create this specialty tag was spearheaded by State Representative Tom Rice. As Chairman of the House Motor Vehicles Committee, he worked with Georgia Right to Life and other pro-life and pro-family groups to make the Choose Life license plates available to Georgia drivers. And he ensured that part of the fee would go to “agencies who present the option of adoption, not abortion.”
Choose Life of Georgia, Inc., receives $10 of the annual fee for each tag, and distributes it to 40 pregnancy resource centers (PRCs.) In order to receive their share of the funds, PRC staff and volunteers are trained to ensure that every client receives truthful information about the adoption option. “We know client advocates are much more comfortable presenting adoption when they are prepared with factual current information and sensitive wording,” said Donna Perry of Life Resources of Georgia, an organization which works to advance the scope, effectiveness and impact of pregnancy centers in Georgia.
In addition to quarterly checks, Choose Life helps meet special needs of pregnancy centers, such as repairs to a center damaged by a flood. Others have received funds for training to become Pregnancy Medical Clinics, which offer limited ultrasound and other medical services.
Tags are available for purchase all year round through each county’s Department of Driver Services, and instructions on how to apply are available on the Choose Life website. Adoptive couples and adoptees proudly display the distinctive tags, as do others who are pro-life.
Nationally the license plates in 29 states have raised almost $23 million since Florida put the first Choose Life tag on the road in August, 2000. The life-affirming message and work of those tiny billboards are impacting our culture. Help promote the positive alternatives to abortion. Buy a Choose Life tag in 2016.
By Karen LaBarr
President, Choose Life of Georgia