Other states, like Mississippi, have offered similar plates. 

By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News

Governor Lincoln Chafee vetoed the controversial "Choose Life" license plate bill Tuesday. 

The bill, which would have allowed the sale of anti-abortion vanity plates, would have also tacked a $40 surcharge on the plates; $20 would have gone into the state's general fund, while another $20 would have gone to Care-Net Rhode Island "to support the alternative choices of infant adoption."

In a statement, Chafee said other vanity plates available in Rhode Island support secular organizations — the Food Bank, the Red Sox — while CareNet aims to "share the love and truth of Jesus Christ."

"This bill compels the state to collect and distribute funds to an organization that advocates a particular religious and political viewpoint," said Chafee in the statement. "It is my belief that state participation in the transmission of funds to this organization would violate the separation of church and state, one of the fundamental principles upon which our state was founded."

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Arthur Corvese, a Democrat from North Providence. 

Gov. Chafee explains his veto of "Choose Life" license plate 

Gov. Lincoln Chafee (D-RI) explains why he vetoed a bill to permit the state to issue a "Choose Life" license plate. Video by Steve Klamkin WPRO News