(RNS) - State governments have discovered they can raise millions of dollars in revenue by offering license plate logos and slogans - such as "Friends of the Smoky Mountains" and "Scouting teaches values" - while drivers have learned they can communicate their passions on their vehicles.

But two passions - abortion, and to a lesser extent, adoption - have caused problems, raising thorny legal questions about where personal freedom of expression ends and state endorsement of religion and other controversial beliefs begin.

On Jan. 24 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to settle the issue, at least for now, when it declined to take a case involving a license plate battle in South Carolina.

Eleven states allow plates saying "Choose Life": Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Hawaii, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Connecticut, and Maryland. Legal injunctions have blocked such plates in two states, Tennessee and South Carolina. And one state, Ohio, has passed legislation for "Choose Life" plates but the governor has not yet signed the bill.

In New York, the state determined that a plate saying "Choose Life" was offensive and denied a request for it. In Tennessee, the state legislature approved a "Choose Life" plate but turned down proposals for a similar plate by abortion rights activists.

 

Pro-choice on selection

A core question in all these cases is whether individuals and states have the right to pick and choose what goes on their plates.

License plate activist Elizabeth Rex of Eastchester, N.Y. says she's pro-choice about "Choose Life" plates.

"If somebody wants a plate that supports abortion, I'm not stopping them," said Rex. "But they shouldn't stop me from getting my plate."

A personal experience motivates Rex's crusade. She and Charles Rex married when they were both 40. Unable to conceive after four years, the couple adopted twice, from women who were experiencing difficult pregnancies.

"We have adopted two children and are just grateful to the courageous mothers who chose adoption," she said.

The Rexes volunteered to organize benefit concerts for a New York crisis-pregnancy center that discourages abortion and promotes adoption. Wanting to do even more, they established the Children First Foundation.

Their "Choose Life" license plate campaign began when Elizabeth Rex read that "Choose Life" license plates in Florida had raised $3 million for adoption and anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers since 1999.

Wanting to avoid the legislative route, the Rexes applied to department of motor vehicle custom plates programs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

While the Connecticut plate was approved in 2003, Rex's applications hit a roadblock in New York and New Jersey. She received a letter from New York explaining the application was denied because the plate's message is "patently offensive." New Jersey's rejection cited a regulation against slogans on license plates.