‘Choose Life’ founders celebrated by Florida Family Policy Council

This past weekend, the Florida Family Policy Council held its annual policy awards dinner, this time featuring GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. During the ceremony, the anti-gay rights and anti-abortion group presented an award to the Ocala couple that runs Choose Life, Inc. #

According to an email sent out by the Policy Council, “this year’s recipients of the Webster Award, presented for outstanding and principled leadership in promoting pro-life or pro-family public policy, was awarded to Russ and Jill Amerling for their decade long efforts to make Choose Life license plates available in every state in the U.S. The Amerlings serve as the national publicity coordinators of Choose Life, Inc.” #

This year, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that reroutes the funds made from the sale of “Choose Life” license plates from the counties were they are sold to Choose Life, Inc. #

Due to a final rewrite of the legislation, there is no requirement that stipulates how much of the money collected from the license has to be spent on the physical needs of pregnant women choosing adoption. There are fears that this could lead to the funding of controversial crisis pregnant centers. These centers have been found to provide medically inaccurate information about abortions. #

The Policy Council also gave awards to various state legislators for introducing anti-abortion measures this past session. #

According to the group’s email, “FFPC Policy Director Bill Warren presented a special Champion of Life Award to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, Senator Ronda Storms, Representative Dennis Baxley and Representative Kelli Stargel for their work in sponsoring and promoting pro-life legislation during the 2011 Legislative Session.” #

During the event, keynote speaker and presidential hopeful Bachmann talked about her own past “counseling” women against having abortions. She described how she and her husband, Marcus Bachmann, would drive women facing unwanted pregnancies to “pro-life centers,” otherwise known as crisis pregnancy centers. #