Choose Life - Kentucky

About Choose Life KENTUCKY

After a long and arduous journey through the General Assembly and Transportation Cabinet, the official Commonwealth of Kentucky "Choose Life" license plate is fully available and fully set to help fund the state's pregnancy care centers (PCCs). On Monday, March 19, 2007 the last step was put in place when the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet sent to each of the state's 120 County Clerks the instructions for collecting the $10 donation that is prescribed to be included in the purchase price of the plate.

The plates themselves have been available since September 2006, but the final regulations and procedures for the donations that are collected by the state at each purchase took more time to promulgate.

The Choose Life plates are ultimately a result of the efforts of Sen. Jack Westwood (R-Crescent Springs) and Rep. Hubert Collins (D-Wittensville). Westwood had sponsored a bill to authorize a Choose Life license plate in 2003 and 2004, and though it passed each session through the Senate, it died each time in the House. However, in 2005 Westwood and Collins worked together on a compromise bill that won legislative approval and established a protocol for the creation of specialty license plates in general.

That Fall, The Family Foundation, along with the state's PCCs and Christian radio stations, launched an effort to secure the 900 plate applications specified by the protocol before the state would begin production. On Feb. 1, 2006, Sen. Westwood and Kent Ostrander of The Family Foundation delivered over 1100 applications for the plates to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Production began shortly thereafter.

The plates raise funds to support the efforts of PCCs throughout the state. PCCs are the key players in promoting the "Choose Life" message by serving as an important resource to their communities. They provide information for women facing unplanned pregnancies and educate youth about abstinence from sexual activity until marriage.

One hundred percent of the money donated goes to support the PCCs across the state, but just as important, when Kentucky citizens see the plate in their area it serves as a reminder of the work that their local center is doing.