[Editor’s note: The following resolution was passed last month by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in response to the efforts of Rep. Paul Stam of Apex to get local governments to drop abortion coverage from their health care plans.]
A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE AND REJECTING REP. PAUL STAM’S INTRUSION INTO MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS REGARDING THIS MATTER
WHEREAS, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen supports all efforts to afford equal protection under the law to Carrboro citizens regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, identity or expression; and
WHEREAS, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen affirms protecting women’s reproductive rights which are protected under United States law but remain under assault by forces which oppose gender equity; and
WHEREAS, a woman’s right to choose whether to bear a child is protected under the constitutional right to privacy, as held by the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, it is a woman’s right to have access to and be knowledgeable about affordable contraceptives and the ability to have a safe, legal abortion if she so chooses; and
WHEREAS, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen affirms that women have the right to control their own bodies and health care, including contraception and reproductive issues; and
WHEREAS, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen affirms that issues regarding reproductive rights and health are confidential and should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, not by a legislative body; and
WHEREAS, N.C. Rep. Paul Stam has falsely asserted that the 1981 case of Stam v. State of North Carolina stands for the proposition that “including elective abortion is beyond the statutory authority of city government,†and has misconstrued the court’s holding, pronouncing that “any North Carolina county … must refuse to fund medically unnecessary abortions under the precedent of Stam v. State;†andÂ
WHEREAS, in fact, the holding in Stam v. State of North Carolina dealt with the narrow question of whether medically unnecessary abortions should be covered under certain social service programs.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE TOWN OF CARRBORO:
Section 1. The Board of Aldermen rejects this intrusive suggestion of N.C. Rep. Paul Stam, relying on a misinterpretation of the holding of Stam v. North Carolina and other hypotheses, that municipalities “must refuse to fund medically unnecessary abortions.â€
Section 2. The Board of Aldermen continues to support a women’s constitutional right to privacy, pursuant to the law of the land as articulated by our United States Supreme Court.
Section 3. The Board of Aldermen resolves that the Town of Carrboro will endeavor to provide Town employees with health insurance coverage that covers the full range of reproductive services.