Court Opinion

ID: 9569007
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:09:37.709571+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:18:29.386706
License: Public Domain

MANION, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I agree with the court’s conclusion that Illinois’ specialty plate program, as set forth in amended 625 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/3-600, does not constitute government speech.6 I also agree with the court’s conclusion that Illinois’ specialty plate program is most aptly characterized as a nonpublic forum. As such, any restriction on speech must not discriminate on the basis of viewpoint and must be reasonable in light of the forum’s purpose. See Opinion at 865. I write separately, however, to stress three points.
First, the court in its opinion concludes that it is undisputed that Illinois decided to exclude “the entire subject of abortion from its specialty-plate program.” Opinion at 25 (emphases added). However, I have some reservations with this conclusion. This is nothing more than the Illinois legislature rejecting efforts to approve a single specialty license plate, “Choose Life.” As the court noted, those efforts were thwarted initially in the Illinois Senate and later in the House (the proposal died in a House subcommittee). By rejecting a “Choose Life” plate, it is not clear to me that the legislature decided to exclude “the entire subject of abortion.” Nevertheless, with that assumption I would then agree that the exclusion of the entire subject is a content-based restriction and not one based on viewpoint.
Second, I disagree with the district court’s (and other courts’) characterization of the “choose life” message as simply a pro-life statement. It is more than that. The message acknowledges ■ both choice and life, so most people who claim to be *868pro-life and a large number of people who claim to be pro-choice but personally opposed to abortion should be comfortable with this message that is directed at pregnant women who are contemplating abortion. This petition expressly recognizes that it is the woman’s choice. But at the same time it recognizes that the life of the developing baby is also at stake.
Although there are extremes on both sides of the abortion issue, the “choose life” message covers a much broader middle ground. Many, if not most (especially politicians, as this issue comes up every election season) who claim to be pro-choice also frequently and I presume sincerely claim to be personally opposed to abortion. Yet they recognize that for a woman faced with an unwanted pregnancy, whether or not to terminate will be an extremely difficult decision. For whatever reason they are personally opposed to abortion, they want the final decision to be with the woman. Still, it seems that these people want to at least greatly reduce the number of abortions and even make them “rare.” Additionally, many proclaim strong support for adoption. But before there is adoption, someone has to intervene and be an advocate for the unborn child in order to encourage the mother to carry her baby to term. Most people who claim to be pro-life recognize that the Supreme Court has created a right of privacy that engulfs the right to choose to have an abortion. With that in mind, most pro-life people would want to do whatever is possible to encourage the woman to choose life for her unborn baby. Thus it would seem to be a natural combination for people who are pro-choice but personally opposed to abortion, and those who are pro-life but recognize that ultimately it’s the woman’s decision, to join together and encourage women in that difficult position to choose life.
While Illinois has decided to exclude the choose-life subject from its specialty plate program, other states might recognize the combined forces of people who are pro-choice but personally opposed, and people who are pro-life but who acknowledge that legally it is the mother’s choice. This combination of people would be willing to accept a “Choose Life” plate, as such a plate does not express any opinion on the legality of abortion. There are organizations that counsel pregnant women who are questioning whether or not to have an abortion. These counselors provide genuine compassion and concern for the woman with an unexpected or even unwanted pregnancy. Their hope is that, with expert counseling, state of the art ultrasounds, prenatal care, and many other services, the pregnant woman would make an informed final decision for her developing child. Support for the mother and baby after birth could include baby cribs, parenting classes, and other follow-up services. All of this would be the hoped-for result for those who are pro-life, as well as those who are pro-choice but personally opposed to abortion.
The bottom line is that the “choose life” message can be placed on two sides of the same coin, which includes concern and compassion for the expectant mother and concern for the future life of her unborn baby. Illinois has chosen to exclude this subject from its specialty plate program. However, for states that choose to include the issue, the “choose life” combination is one that a solid legislative majority could comfortably approve.
Third and finally, it is important to stress that for those states which have approved a “Choose Life” plate, that, by itself, does not demonstrate viewpoint discrimination based on the absence of other specialty plates related to the topic of abortion. A “Choose Life” plate does not *869speak to whether abortion should be legal, but instead recognizes that under our legal system only pregnant women can choose whether or not to have an abortion. The message simply recommends that a woman contemplating abortion choose life for her unborn child. But rather than devolve into the contentious debate about viewpoints concerning the legality of abortion, a state could reasonably seek to promote a common middle ground — shared by both those who support and those who object to the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion. States which find the “Choose Life” plate provides a positive non-eon-frontational area of shared consensus act reasonably in that conclusion and do not engage in viewpoint discrimination. On the other hand, for now, Illinois can reasonably conclude that it does not want its license plates to mention anything related to abortion.
For these reasons, I concur.

. I likewise agree that the amendment by the Illinois legislature effectively moots the district court’s opinion by expressly requiring legislative approval of any license plate message before the Secretary of State may issue new specialty plates.