Friday, March 6, 2009
License to Kill (Not)
Posted By Jerre Wroble on March 6, 2009, 1:35 PM
The sky is falling on so many fronts, and yet the Utah Legislature always manages to find the time to chip away at reproductive rights, and in the most undelightful ways.
As if there weren't already more than enough reasons for road rage, now it's the"Choose Life" license plate (HB337, sponsored by Rep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo). It's wormed its way through the House, 44-27, and is waiting for the Senate to deliver it to the hands of the pro-life lobby. Revenue generated by those paying an extra $25 for the plate will go to nonprofits that, according to Herrod in a March 5 D-News article, help "young unwed women" with "food, shelter until they have the baby and the baby can be adopted."
As laudable as that sounds, isn't the feeding and sheltering of anyone who cannot take care of themselves already handled by other agencies and nonprofits?Furthermore, the language of the bill itself doesn't refer to feeding or sheltering anyone. It says that qualifying nonprofit organizations may use it to: produce and distribute educational and promotional materials on adoptions; conduct educational courses on adoptions; and provide other programs that support adoption.
Sorta sounds like a brochure fund, you know the ones with photos of unborn fetuses that scream abortion is murder? More grating is the fact that private individuals and organizations can also donate to the fund, which the state Division of Child and Family Services will manage. So now the state is in charge of running a charity for pro-lifers?
The last time they tried to run this through (2004), now retired Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake, insisted that a "Respect Choice" plate also be available, serving to cancel out the whole debate. Roz, where are you now?
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