Phoenix, USA - Now that an anti-abortion group has won a long legal fight, an Arizona commission is being ordered to meet by Jan. 23 and approve a special "choose life" license plate.
U.S. District Judge Paul Rosenblatt set the deadline in an order that also requires the state to take all necessary steps for "timely production and issuance" of the new plate.
The judgment comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in October left in place a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the Arizona Life Coalition.
The 9th Circuit said the state commission on license plates violated the group's constitutional right to free speech by turning down its application.
The plate envisioned by supporters would have drawings of the faces of two smiling children in an overall design based on Arizona's regular plate. The "choose life" slogan would appear twice.
While the case has been portrayed as being centered on the abortion issue, members of the Arizona Life Coalition have said they are speaking of adoption and other concerns, as well.
Other states offering "Choose Life" plates include South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.