Week before last, a noncontroversial bill on license plates sparked a protracted debate on abortion in the Missouri Senate that ended with the bill's sponsor killing the measure. Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, sponsored a bill creating vanity license plates honoring various groups, such as native Americans and Korean War veterans. State Sen. Sarah Steelman, R-Rolla, offered an amendment that would have created a plate including the phrase "Respect Life" in place of the phrase "Show Me State" that appears on standard plates. Those choosing the "Respect Life" plates would have paid an additional $25 fee. The fee would have gone to fund alternatives to abortion, such as adoption for the thousands of Missourians who are desperate for a child.

We commend Steelman for the "Respect Life" sentiment, but the designation of the extra license fee goes too far. Last year, two similar bills (one from each chamber), both sponsored by Democrats, did make it to the governor's desk only to meet with his veto pen. This is one of many acts that have marked Gov. Mel Carnahan as incontestably the most pro-abortion governor in Missouri history.

Besides the concern about designating license fees for specific uses, opponents of the "Respect Life" wording are afraid countless hundreds of thousands of us would opt for it, helping to communicate this life-affirming message. Liberals chatter endlessly about the horrors of shootings such as those at Columbine High School. But, given a chance to step away from that culture of death, they have nixed a chance to choose life.