The news that a pro-life license plate was going to be produced was upsetting. The fact that proceeds from the new plate will go to pro-life foundations is appalling.
I find the fact that the state would allow such a license plate to be made in the first place not only a violation of the law established by Roe v. Wade, but also an infringement on the right to choose.
In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that in the first two trimesters a woman had the right to choose an abortion over caring to term, thus abolishing numerous state’s laws prohibiting the practice of abortion. The laws that prohibited abortion were entirely based on religion and moral beliefs of a small group of people. The Bill of Rights says that no one can be prohibited from having their own religion, but also that the state has no right to establish any general religious belief. Just as there is no state license plate that promotes a single religion, which would be an infringement on free exercise, there should be no plate that supports a belief that is based largely on religion.
The pro-life argument is an extreme conviction that denies individuals their right to make decisions about their bodies and wellbeing. But people have the right to do what they want with their own bodies. Once a belief begins to infringe upon another person’s right to choose a line has been crossed. The state government of Florida has crossed that line in allowing a pro-life license plate to be made.
Without a plate being made in opposition of anti-abortion champions, the government of Florida has made a statement that will forever deter my faith in our system of government. How dare a political body, or anyone else, tell me-or any other woman-what decisions we are to make about our bodies?
Denise Kolb is a sophomore majoring in criminology.