Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010

Quest fails for abortion clarity

Jensen wanted state's input

Councilman Bill Jensen wanted the state's attorney general to weigh in on the town's recent decision to end coverage of Apex employees' elective abortions.

But his wish fell flat last week.

At a town council meeting on Feb. 16, Jensen proposed asking the attorney general "to provide a definitive legal interpretation of decisions previously made and what the rights of towns are in this issue related to providing or not providing for elective abortions."

The effort failed for lack of a second to his motion.

The move came less than a month after Apex council members - including Jensen - voted to end coverage of employees' abortions except in cases of incest, rape or danger to the life of the mother.

The unanimous vote set precedent in the Triangle. Jensen says it's part of a statewide push to end county and municipal coverage of elective abortions.

Wake County made a similar move.

At a commissioners' meeting this month, about a dozen people, roughly evenly divided on the issue, offered detailed comment about whether the procedure should be covered.

Wake and Apex officials have said that eliminating medically unnecessary abortions from health insurance policies would protect the government entities from lawsuits and would also mirror federal policy.

But debate lingers over whether towns and counties were equal under state law.

Wake's decision to cut coverage came after Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican and long-time abortion foe, told Wake County attorney Scott Warren that the county could be sued if it continued to cover elective abortions, Warren said.

Stam was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that ended in a 1981 state Supreme Court decision that said counties could not use tax dollars to pay for abortions for indigent women. Stam's legislative assistant, Keith Weatherly, is mayor of Apex.

"These guys are going after everybody in the state," Jensen said.

On Feb. 11, Stam sent an e-mail with copies of the 1981 ruling to county managers across the state, according to Ellis Hankins, executive director of the N.C. League of Municipalities.

The next day, Hankins sent a memo to town managers, attorneys and clerks saying: "The General Assembly has provided broad statutory authority and discretion to city councils to determine employee benefits, including the scope of health insurance coverage. League staff attorneys respectfully disagree with contrary opinions that have been expressed."

Stam did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The league's interpretation matches an American Civil Liberties report written after Apex's initial decision.

That report found that state statutes allow local governments -- counties, cities and towns -- to provide benefits without restrictions on abortion coverage.

The report also said the Stam case -- which said counties are not authorized to levy property taxes in order to pay for abortion services for indigent women -- was not applicable.

"It's a creative interpretation," said Sarah Preston, the ACLU's legislative director. "But they're making a tenuous connection with a case that has nothing to do with local governments providing health insurance to their employees."