A new specialty license plate that features a “Choose Life” message is now available for Iowans who oppose abortion.
Iowa Right to Life executive director Jennifer Bowen has sent in the extra $25 required with her specialty plate application, but she doesn’t have the plates on her car yet.
“I’m waiting,” Bowen told Radio Iowa, with a laugh. “I’ve got some board members and others in other parts of the state — in rural parts of the state — that have received their letter and gone and picked up their plates. Living in Jasper County, I have not yet received my notice.”
Iowa now joins 28 other states in offering a specialty license plate that features the words “Choose Life” and a logo featuring the smiling faces of a boy and a girl.
“The image on the specialty plate is actually part of the ‘Choose Life America’ organization,” Bowen said.
Bowen and other activists have been lobbying for a “pro-life” Iowa license plate for more than a decade, but were never able to get a bill through the legislature to authorize its creation. According to Bowen, the Branstad Administration indicated the plate could be created through executive action if her group gathered enough signatures from Iowans who wanted to get one of the plates.
“It took us just about one year to collect a little over 500 signatures,” Bowen said.
According to the Iowa DOT’s website, there are now 65 different specialty license plates available, ranging from plates that tout breast cancer awareness to plates that feature both the names and mascots Iowa colleges and universities.