Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010

Your letters: March 3

Apex acted responsibly

Recently protests have been made towards the town of Apex's decision to eliminate insurance coverage of elective abortions and the subsequent efforts of Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley to affect the same change on a county level.

Melissa Reed, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood Health Systems, disputed abortion restrictions and said that county employees "deserve comprehensive health coverage" ["Wake limits abortion coverage," Feb. 17].

"Deserve" is an emotionally-charged verb subject to wide interpretation, and when swallowed by a gullible public its effects leave everyone thinking selfishly.

It often seems to be the verb-of-choice when a want is being threatened.

No one in this world "deserves" everything they want.

That type of thinking leads to, well, California.

Elective abortions are a want and not a need.

Public servants like Apex Mayor Weatherly are acting responsibly during this period of economic recession by eliminating a want expense from the public coffers.

No one working for the Town of Apex is going to be kept from having an abortion.

Employees seeking an abortion simply cannot now use the town's public funds to pay for their private want.

I call that wise fiscal responsibility, and I thank Mayor Weatherly for his care of the public trust.

Finally, castigating Mr. Gurley or Mayor Weatherly for personally agreeing with the elimination of abortion coverage is just petty. There is nothing wrong with achieving congruency between personal feelings and public actions.

I now hope the Wake County Commissioners will see the value of removing elective abortion's wasteful cost.

Alison Green, Apex

Applauding Apex on abortion

In response to the uproar created by the town of Apex, and now Wake County, eliminating coverage of abortion:

I would like to remind people there is a simpler issue that need not debate the moral issue. Abortion is some people's answer to unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.

I remind those people that the simpler and more cost effective method is birth control and abstinence.

I applaud the town and county for their position, and I suggest the offended parties evaluate their own responsibility and capabilities to prevent pregnancy in the first place.

Marie Brewer, Apex

Here's to Ava Stephens

I read with your Feb. 17 article "Charity - not Disney - makes cents."

It was heartwarming to read about the generosity of young Ava Stephens and her donation to the N.C. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

As a director of another nonprofit, I am always touched by the stories of those who give of their time, talent and money to support a cause.

I know that Ava was saving her pennies for a trip to Disney and wanted to make the family aware of the Disney "Give a Day, Get a Day" program that is going on.

If people volunteer their service - all ages included - they can earn a free pass to a Disney park for a day.

We have had a number of volunteers who have assisted us over the last several months, and there are numerous opportunities on the Web sites for many organizations.

Certainly, if the family is interested and not able to find a service that fits their needs, we would be happy to have them volunteer with us and can work with them to offer an opportunity.

Thank you again for a great article.

Sue Cowell, Cary

The author is executive director of Hemophilia of North Carolina.