Apex, North Carolina is just a small town outside of Raleigh, not known for much, except perhaps the town slogan, "The Peak of Good Living." But city officials there recently made a potentially devastating decision to eliminate coverage of elective abortions from employees' health plans.
The vote was unanimous among the all-male town council and mayor. The issue was presented as a budgetary issue although the Mayor and some council members reflected on the moral issue as well.
According to the report in the Cary News:
I just don't think our taxpayers should be subsidizing that," Councilman Mike Jones said. "There are options for abortions other than using town-sponsored insurance. ... There's cost, sure, but the underlying issue for me is the moral issue of abortion."
The town's decision to follow the federal example has caused others to examine the rights of cities and towns in North Carolina to pick and choose when it comes to their individual policies.
Tony Gurley of the Wake County Board of Commissioners said he plans to raise the issue of abortion coverage at the county level at an upcoming board meeting.
Apex is just a small town, not known for much, until now.