I don't know about you, but if I paid for a "Respect Choice" fundraising specialty license plate, I'd think I was shelling out to raise money for an organization that actually, you know, respects choice. But in Virginia, they prefer to dupe pro-choice supporters into buying "Trust Women/Respect Choice" license plates that actually deny funding to pro-choice, women-trusting groups.

About half the states in our country already offer "Choose Life" license plates, which unfortunately raise money for groups that don't want to let women choose, and for lying crisis pregnancy centers that manipulate women instead of informing them. In Virginia, pro-choice supporters who want to wear their beliefs on their bumper decided it was high time to fight back with "Trust Women/Respect Choice" plates, which would provide funds for comprehensive reproductive health services and information at Planned Parenthood.

Yet Right Wing Watch points out there's been a ridiculous twist in the House bill authorizing these plates: an amendment has decided to take the funds away from Planned Parenthood, and give them to the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund.

In theory, there's nothing wrong with providing funding for a legitimate pregnancy support fund, if that was what the message of the license plate was directed toward. Except that a "Respect Choice" license plate should fund services that promote a woman's choice, whatever choice she makes. Instead, the "Respect Choice" and "Choose Life" plates are funding practically the same agenda. And Planned Parenthood wasn't even going to use the funds raised for abortion services (although, given that the plate is meant to respect ALL choices, I don't know why they should be restricted from using the funds for that as well), but rather for overall comprehensive women's reproductive health and education.

In practice, the so-called Pregnant Women Support Fund isn't even a real fund -- it only exists on paper. This was discovered after House legislators went, "Hey yeah, that's a great idea!" and voted to divert the funds. I guess as long as it's not actually supporting choice, they don't really care where people's money goes.

Del. Robert Brink, who sponsored the original House bill, is pretty miffed that the funding has been redirected to "an empty vessel" and warns that this nefarious switch-a-roo denying Planned Parenthood the proceeds from their own proposal could invite a First Amendment lawsuit. As of now, the House bill needs to be reconciled with the Senate version, which intelligently rejected an attempt to pull a fast one like this. Tell the Virginia state legislature that funding in the final bill must go to the original intended recipient for pro-choice health services.

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Written by :

Andrea Miller