By now, you’ve likely heard about the Apex Town Council’s January 19^th decision to strip abortion coverage from their town employees’ health plan.

What you may not have heard about was their follow up meeting last week.

The Apex vote in January was unanimous because Mayor Keith Weatherly presented it as settled legal matter. (Check out our previous post for background on Mayor Weatherly.)

Of course, the truth came out immediately following the vote.  Within days, lawyers from the ACLU, the NC League of Municipalities and the NC Association of County Commissioners all issued statements or opinions defending a county or town’s authority to determine which benefits are appropriate for their employees.

As soon as Apex Town Council Member Bill Jensen found out the issue was driven by politics rather than settled law, he called on the Apex Town Council to take it up again. Last week at their February meeting, Councilman Jensen moved to have abortion coverage placed on the agenda. The lone Democrat couldn’t get a second to his motion. Not a single other Apex Town Council member had the courage to debate the merits of taking comprehensive healthcare coverage away from town employees.  

During the meeting, Mayor Weatherly admitted publicly that Apex has the authority to provide abortion coverage to its employees. He also admitted it was a moral issue rather than a legal one.

The truth is the Apex decision was purely political.

Mayor Keith Weatherly is the legislative assistant to NC Representative Paul Stam who filed the original court case being trotted out as the rationale for denying women reproductive health coverage.

Back in the late 80s when Stam first served in the NC House, he was referred to as the “prince of pelvic politics” because of his relentless crusade against reproductive freedom.

When Mayor Weatherly told the Town Council this was a legal decision, he must have known he had the backing of Apex Town Attorney Hank Fordham–Paul Stam’s law partner.

It would be bad enough if the small town politics of Apex were confined to Apex. But since the Apex vote, several counties have moved to deny their employees abortion coverage because they fell for the settled law ruse.

It’s hard to believe its 2010 when an all-male town council led by a politically-connected mayor can deny thousands of women reproductive health coverage and get away with it. It’s hard to believe but it’s happening right here in North Carolina.  Please help us fight back.

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