Sen. Warren Daniel, a Burke County Republican, has introduced the first pro-life bill of the 2011-12 legislative session — Senate Bill 73, a measure giving North Carolina drivers the option of buying a special “Choose Life” license plate.

Proceeds from the plate would go to fund pregnancy centers that offer abortion alternatives. North Carolina currently offers around 100 special-interest license plates for a range of causes, including litter prevention, public schools, and sea turtles.

Lawmakers from both chambers have introduced pro-life license plate bills every session since 2001, without success. The closest the legislation came to passing was in 2008, when the House Transportation Committee OK’d the bill. It later died in another committee and never got a full vote on the House floor.

Daniel hopes this year will be different. “It’s something that’s been put on the back burner by the previous majority,” he said. “It will hopefully do some good in funding crisis pregnancy centers, but more than anything it’s something the pro-life community is very interested in having that as an option.”

Paige Johnson, a spokeswoman for the abortion provider Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, objected to the bill’s provision that devotes funds to pro-life pregnancy centers.

“This legislation states that organizations benefiting from these license plates may not provide, promote, counsel, or even refer women for abortion, effectively denying women legal health care information,” Johnson said.

A poll commissioned in May by the conservative Civitas Institute found that 68 percent of Tar Heel voters support making the pro-life license plates available.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate say they plan to focus on the budget and redistricting before taking up social issues. Democrats have charged that GOP lawmakers are sidetracked with non-fiscal priorities, such as legislation allowing North Carolinians to opt out of the federal health care law’s individual mandate.

In response, Daniel said that lawmakers are “capable of multitasking,” and that the bill shouldn’t consume much time. He also said that other pro-life bills are in the hopper.

“There will be other pro-life legislation that hopefully can be done this time, though the budget and redistricting are the priority,” he said.

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.