While choice advocates were busy focused on the amendments flying around at the national level to prohibit abortion coverage in health insurance, a similar anti-choice discussion had begun right here in Wake County. On January 19th, the town council of Apex unanimously approved a change to the health insurance policies of its employees that would remove coverage for elective abortion procedures from the Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage their employees receive from the town. The new policy took effect on February 1st. Reports indicate that the coverage was brought to the attention of the mayor and he didn't think it was appropriate that tax dollars be spent on abortion. Never mind that over 80% of health insurance plans cover abortion procedures because it is a safe and constitutionally protected health care procedure. In most cases coverage for abortion is included in the package and removing this single provision will save counties and cities a negligible amount, if anything at all. According to the town manager, only three employees of Apex in the last six years have even applied for the coverage, again demonstrating that the cost savings would be negligible. This is not a fiscal decision; it is a moral judgment.

This type of prohibition singles out a health care procedure that is only provided to women. There has never been a similar discussion to single out services only utilized by men. The policy unfairly burdens women, but beyond that, when a government body starts drawing lines about health care services, what's next? No coverage for birth control? A stop to coverage for vasectomies? At the moment, Apex still covers these, but who knows what the town will decide to nix next.

Indeed, there are many reasons to be concerned about the decision of the Apex town council, but at the moment the most frightening is that the policy change seems to be spreading. On Monday, February 15th, the Wake County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on removing their coverage for abortion from health insurance plans for Wake County employees. Wake County residents can make their position in support of the women who work for Wake County in advance of the meeting; Planned Parenthood has set up an action center so that residents can email the county commissioners in advance of the meeting on the 15th. Hopefully, Wake County residents will also attend the meeting and show support for fewer government burdens on a woman's reproductive freedom.