(January 26, 2005)   The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a hearing on the appeal of the lower court ruling against the Choose Life license plate in South Carolina raised concerns about the legal implications for Choose Life specialty plates in other states.  Russ Amerling provides some welcome clarification on the situation.

His insights clear up the situation in South Carolina.  South Carolina (and believe it or not, Illinois) both have clauses within their state constitution that state "we favor the birth of children over the abortion."  In Illinois, we are perfectly happy to have proponents of abortion on demand have their own specialty plate.   I might add, in the four years since the plate started in Florida, not one single plate has been applied for from the abortion side.

(January 5, 2005)  Many of you have given me, at one time or the other, encouragement to continue this fight for ADOPTION AID through the Illinois Choose Life specialty plate.   The lawsuit in the state of New York uses EXACTLY THE SAME charges we have made in our lawsuit against the present "policy" of the Secretary of State's office regarding who will get a specialty plate issued to benefit their cause, and who the legislators, in a strictly partisan basis, will deny. This is great news.

June 2004 Update    (June 28, 2004)

The Illinois Choose Life ADOPTION AID specialty license plate bill is all about ADOPTION as another choice at the time of an unplanned pregnancy.  There is simply more than one choice than abortion. Financial need and "not yet ready to begin a family" are the number one reasons given by mothers who choose abortion according to The Allan B Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in America today.  This bill, and the support it provide, gives answer to both of these problems.

History of the effort began in Florida where the first Choose Life ADOPTION AID specialty plates went on sale on August 11, 2000.  Less than four years later $2,582,000 has been raised for this worthy cause.  The Choose Life ADOPTION AID specialty plate has over 40,000 plates on the highways of Florida at this time.  It is the fastest growing plate in sales, and currently in the number 10 position overall.  Sales growth from 2002 to 2003 was +10.3%.

Twelve states have now approved the Choose Life plate with 10 having it on the road: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. South Carolina and Tennessee are fighting legal battles to make the plate available.  In addition, sixteen states (including Illinois) are in he process of offering them.  Overall, forty of the fifty states have had discussions regarding this specialty plate.

Initial meeting of the llinois Choose Life Committee was in July of 2002.  The bill was first submitted to the Illinois Legislature in the Fall, 2002 veto session under the legislative process now required to obtain approval for issuance of specialty plates.   After submitting the bill again during the regular sessions of the Illinois Legislature in 2003 and 2004, it became quite clear that we were not to have a fair hearing and floor vote in either the House or the Senate.  This was being done on strictly a partisan basis.  Pressure from Planned Parenthood upon legislators who received funding for their political efforts resulted in discriminatory treatment and a denial of our First and Fourteenth amendment free speech rights (under mobile speech) guaranteed by the Constitution, our Supreme Law of the land.  We refuse to sit on the back of the Free Speech bus in Illinois on a matter of such importance and compassion.

We are now approaching 30,000 signatures of Illinois residents from 543 different cities, and 90 different counties, that make up 99% of the population of Illinois.   Unprecedented in  scope and numbers.  Truly a real grassroots effort.   The majority of those signing the petition asking for the state to make the plates available for those who want to support ADOPTION indicate that they would purchase the plate.  With this in mind, we are prepared to put up a cash deposit of $25,000 guaranteeing the purchase of a minimum of 1000 of these plates within the first twelve months of their availability.  Or, if necessary, $50,000, assuring the sale of 2000 plates over the first two years of the effort.  The additional charge for the Choose Life Specialty plate is $25 above the normal $78 charge.  $23 goes to a special fund created at the state treasury for the assistance of ADOPTION AID organizations such as Homes for unwed mothers, Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Adoption agencies, and organizations who place children already born, with special needs and foster children.

Why was "Choose Life" chosen as the name to be used across America?  In simplest terms, it was what sold the plates.  Proponents against capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion, and embryonic stem cell research all support this.  In Illinois, as mentioned earlier, going on 30,000 people have signed petitions asking for this name.

Objections have come from Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU, and abortion on demand groups and individuals who feel only one choice should be considered, their choice.  One would think with ADOPTION  the opposite sides could finally agree on one thing, that this is also a legitimate choice.

Objections raised to the Choose Life specialty plate always fall into two categories.   Both have consistently been defeated in court.  One is that the state can not take a viewpoint on one side or the other.  In most cases the state could be falsely accused of such a thing.  Specialty plates for the Masons and Knights of Columbus exist.  The environment specialty plate does not mean the state takes a position against developers.  Having union plates does not take a position against management.   The University of Illinois license plate is not a viewpoint discrimination against Northern Illinois University.  In addition, the Choose Life ADOPTION AID specialty plate organizations have encouraged the other side to get their own plate, supporting Planned Parenthood or whatever their particular choice.  In court cases already decided, the Federal judges have clearly stated that it is not proper for those trying to block an adoption aid plate to do so without even attempting to offer one of their own.   The judge in the Florida case clearly stated that "there is no right to prevent another side from offering their message, just because you are not offering yours, and do not want them to have their plate."

The other argument used is that it is somehow church-state entanglement.  In the first place, the First amendment (establishment clause) guarantees us the freedom of speech when it comes to our religion. "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion, OR TO PROHIBIT THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF.  This is all about free speech, and not about any religion, let alone a particular religion.  As mentioned earlier, the free speech choice for the name of the plate, "Choose Life", is what sells the plate.  It covers many areas that indicate respect for life.  There is no trademark on the use of the words "choose" or "choice".  No one "owns" this all American word.  Finally, for what it is worth, one of the most influential proponents for the separation of church and state, atheist Robert Sherman has stated without hesitation "this is not a matter of church state entanglement, but totally a matter of free speech at work."

(Thomas L. Brejcha of the Thomas More Society law firm in Chicago was then introduced to explain the lawsuit to be filed and other steps to be taken.)    Press Conference    Purpose of Lawsuit

March 2004 Update    (March 4, 2004)

As planned, Illinois Choose Life ADOPTION specialty license plates again filed bills to make this specialty plate available to the drivers of Illinois.  I would not be truthful if I told you I had any hopes whatsoever that the results would be different than last year.  By the same token, I have never been more convinced that we will win this effort.  We WILL be given our first amendment, free speech rights, to have our message of adoption simply being another choice for a mother at the time of a "difficult pregnancy."

I was in Springfield last week to meet with the dedicated sponsors of our bill.  We followed this strategy meeting with an excellent press conference.  The message continues to get out.  We are on our way to 30,000 signatures of residents asking for the ADOPTION AID plate.  I was shocked to see the cities from where the signatures were coming.  From Cairo and Carbondale in the South, to Peoria, Bloomington, Rockford, all the way to ALL of the suburbs surrounding Chicago.  543 different cities, coming from 90 different counties, which represent 99% of the state. Truly a grass roots effort of the highest magnitude.

Yesterday Choose Life was in attendance at the meeting of the State Government Administration Committee to discuss various bills they were considering.  Jill Stanek, and Representative Shane Cultra, the lead sponsor of HB 5883 (as well as many of representatives who were co-sponsoring the bill) were unconscionably held for over four hours, only to be again denied the opportunity to speak in front of the committee.   Many words could be used to describe their action. Several which come to mind are: biased, partisan, unfair, beholden (to special interest groups such as PP, NOW, ACLU) and unwise for the state.

We have seen in the state of California, success when legal steps have been taken to confront the states denial of a fair and unbiased selection procedure for the issuance of a specialty plate to an interested group.  We are prepared and committed to moving in this direction.  We will have the support of Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society and attorneys from the Life Legal Defense Fund (California) and Alliance Defense Fund (Arizona, New Jersey, and New York).  We will win this one, because the laws regarding free speech are on our side.  That, and the prayers and efforts of so many of you that are reading this message.

Finally, the support of Dan Proft to guide us through the political scene, and to make available the steps to reach the media (press releases, and press conferences) has been critical to our success.  If you will read the testimony planned for the committee hearing, you will see the OUTSTANDING points that Dan had prepared for Jill Stanek to be given on our behalf, at the committee meeting "that wasn't" (at least as far as Choose Life was concerned).  What a beautiful job on Dan's part.  Believe me we will use this in our coming efforts to show many people how Representative Jack Franks (Democrat) who represents a conservative family orientated district in McHenry County, has acted.  Franks' actions, as chairman of the State Government Administration Committee, have single-handedly been responsible for blocking the Choose Life ADOPTION license plate effort in 2003 and 2004.   We will not forget, nor tire in our efforts to let his constituents know what makes up "family issues" as far as Representative Franks is concerned.

Thanks for the encouragement and help I continue to get from so many of you.  If any of you know the beautiful people who labor in the adoption field, you know how deserving they are of the help this will provide. In Florida over $2,000,000 was raised in less than four years they have had the plates available.

Jim Finnegan
President, Illinois Choose Life Adoption Specialty Plates
460 East Lake Shore Drive
Barrington, Illinois 60010
847-526-1152
jimpfinn@aol.com

Letter to Rep. Jack Franks on Blocked Testimony

November 2003 Update    (November 11, 2003)

We continue to gather signatures requesting the issuance of our specialty license plate benefiting adoption as a positive option for those mothers in a crisis pregnancy who may be considering abortion as their only option.  Adoption is one of the three choices available to mothers at this time. Unfortunately, statistics show it to be a poor third choice after abortion and the positive choice of raising her child. Before Roe v Wade and Doe Bolton, the two Supreme Court decisions that "legalized" abortion on demand in the United States, adoption was the choice of 25% of the mothers in a difficult pregnancy. Today the figure is only 6%. There is much room for improvement.

Virtually everyone has a positive view towards adoption, with 60% of Americans having some family connection that involves adoption. We have gathered over 23,000 signatures asking for the Choose Life specialty plate to be made available, only to be prevented from receiving even a hearing on the floor of either the House or Senate by the full membership. Senate Bill 1502 and House Bill 10 were both given to what are referred to as hostile committees.  In the Senate there were five new specialty plates being considered.  Four went to the Transportation committee for consideration, while Choose Life went to the Health and Human Services committee. This committee was strongly partisan against anything considered pro-family, pro-child, or pro-life. In both the House and the Senate, the committee vote to have the bills referred to a floor discussion, were given a no vote by the Democratic members, and a yes vote by the Republican members. Discouraging yes, especially after so many good people gave such a favorable response to the effort. Discouraging, but not defeating, absolutely not.

What can we do now?

FIRST:   We are now approaching 25,000 signatures affirming the issuance of a specialty plate that benefits ADOPTION as another choice. We have additional churches holding signature gathering events after services already scheduled.  We need more people willing to take this on.  It can be done quickly over a weekend, and is simple to complete. The parishioners always provide a huge positive response. We have packets available to mail to you to aid in following through with this effort. Please contact us at 847-526-1152 for more information. If necessary we are committed to staying the course until we achieve the unheard of total of 50,000 signatures asking for Choose Life license plates. Without your help we will not reach this goal.

SECOND: Contact your legislator in both the Illinois House and Senate asking for their support of the new bills to be reintroduced in January within the Illinois Legislature.   If you wish to see a copy of the bill, check Illinois Legislation on this web site.

THIRD:  Write your local papers with letters of support for this effort.  Ask your friends to do the same.  If you have contacts with any of the media (radio, television, newspaper), ask for interviews for us regarding this benign and beautiful effort.  Ask your local adoption agencies and crisis pregnancy centers to support our effort with signature gathering.  All our efforts and the funds raised will go to aiding them in their important work. Organizations that support the placement of special needs and foster children will also receive financial aid from this effort.   Ask for their support also.

FOURTH:  Pray for guidance and success from our Lord on this effort, and that we will recognize the path HE wished us to take.

Recently five additional states (Tennessee, Montana, Maryland, Arkansas, and Connecticut) put Choose Life ADOPTION specialty plates on sale. This now totals twelve states who have approved this adoption effort, with fifteen other states, including Illinois, in the process of attempting the same.  California supporters have taken legal action against the state for discrimination on the part of the legislators who have refused to consider their choice. This action comes after three years of effort to pass a bill.   A federal judge has stopped further approval of any specialty plate in California until the state sets a more equitable procedure for selection.  We have just finished our first year's effort, and are more determined than ever to be treated fairly on this issue.  Fairness may require actions similar to those taken in California.  We must remember that the first successful effort to release the ADOPTION Specialty Plate into Florida took over three years.

Planned Parenthood, NOW, and the ACLU have been the dissenters.  Their arguments in all cases have been denied in court in every state. They argue that it is Church State entanglement, and in all cases the courts decided that it was a free speech issue.  They argue that it represents viewpoint discrimination, and have again been told in the courts that the state is not endorsing anything in any of the plates it issues, and they can also apply for their own plate if they wish (usually, they do not). The words Choose Life are what bothers them. This is, of course, exactly what has to happen for an adoption to occur. The mother in a difficult situation has to choose life for herself, her child, and the adopting parents who have waited so long for their family to be complete.  As mentioned earlier, we have collected over 23,000 signatures from people asking for the Choose Life plate, not for a plate with wording such as 'choose adoption'. Choose Life is what "sells" the plate across America, and we have a first amendment right to use it. You can contact us at the below address.  Please make the decision today to get involved in this beautiful effort. Proverbs 24:11-12 (see below) says it all.

Jim Finnegan
President, Illinois Choose Life Adoption Specialty Plates
460 East Lake Shore Drive
Barrington, Illinois 60010
847-526-1152
jimpfinn@aol.com

Proverbs 24
¹¹ Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
¹² If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?