Is PA Really Making a Moral Statement on their License Plates?

I was on my way to pick my son up from school the other day when I noticed the license plate on the car in front of me. Now I don't know, maybe it's just me, but this plate really looks like Pennsylvania is taking a stand on the Right to Life (or the Right to Choose... depending on how you see it). More on this "choice" in a minute.

I did a quick search on the specialty license plates available in Pennsylvania. There are quite a few Special Organizational License Plates available in Pennsylvania - but notice, I said, "Special Organizational." At least that's how PennDOT labels these plates on their website.

There are nearly 170 such "Special Organizational" plates available for purchase. Some of these organizations are colleges such as Temple University, Arcadia University (my alma mater), and Lehigh University. Then there are such "Special Organizations" such as the Army Reserve and the Air Force Reserve, the American Legion and the Carpenters Union. There are Fire Companies, the Harley Owners Group, the Autism Society of America, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And yes, there is even Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania, an organization listed as such with the state of Pennsylvania.

Out of all the "Special Organizations" listed, only one license plate is not associated with a specific "Organization" - the PA Choose Life plate.

PennDOT tells us we should contact our "Special Organization" to find out how we can order our "Special Organizational License Plate." So, theoretically, if I *wanted* to get my hands on a "PA Choose Life" license plate, how would I go about doing so?

If I want a plate with the 4H Club on it, I'll call the National 4-H Council. If I want a plate with the Ruffed Grouse Society on it, I'll call the Ruffed Grouse National Wildlife Conservation Society.

It would seem to me that a "Special Organizational" plate would have some indication as to the organization associated with the special plate.

But this particular Pennsylvania License Plate isn't about supporting an organization like the other 166 license plates listed on their site. This plate is about making a statement - a statement aligned with a particular (conservative, radical right wing motivated) ethical stance.

And it's a veiled statement at that.

What is the statement "Choose Life" really saying? Is this a statement for choice, or is this a statement against choice? Or is it neither?

My personal opinion is (and I'll know for sure once I get a response from PennDOT on who I need to contact to get one of these license plates) this is a Right Wing Extremist Agenda, blurring the lines of separation of Church and State, trying yet again to hide their rhetoric of hate in a Politically (in)Correct, highly visible, and highly public manner.

I wonder if Edward G. Rendell, Governor, is actually aware that Pennsylvania is taking this ethical stance in such a public way ....

Update: I received a response from PennDOT in reference to my query about the PA Choose Life plate. I still don't know what "organization" the plate is associated with. But now I have a name and number to contact someone about the plate ....