Carolina Journal News Reports
CJ Series

Taxpayer-Funded Abortions in N.C.

Carolina Journal investigates counties and the UNC system as they use taxpayer funds to pay for local and state employees' elective abortions.

(5.03.11) N.C. House Budget Tackles Taxpayer-Funded Abortions
RALEIGH — On top of the abortion-funding restrictions, Republican budget-writers have clawed back about $500,000 in state grants to Planned Parenthood. The funds are earmarked for contraception and teenage pregnancy prevention programs in the Triangle area.

(2.02.11) Report: Nearly Half of Large U.S. Universities Provide Abortion Health Insurance
RALEIGH — Almost half of the nation's largest postsecondary schools — including N.C. State University in Raleigh and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — automatically enroll students in the abortion-providing coverage.

(12.06.10) GOP-Led Wake Commission Bares Its Teeth in First Meeting
RALEIGH — The Wake County Board of Commissioners’ new Republican majority got off to a controversial start Dec. 6 by voting to nix taxpayer-funded elective abortions for county employees and to rescind a resolution condemning resegregation in public schools.

(12.03.10) Wake County to Drop Elective Abortion Coverage
RALEIGH — The move is sure to reignite a debate from last winter over whether health insurance plans should cover elective abortion, which are those deemed medically unnecessary and often used as a form of birth control.

(8.24.10) Student Group Asks Perdue to Investigate Abortion Coverage
In a letter sent Aug. 19, the president of Students for Life, Kristan Hawkins, called on Gov. Bev Perdue to intervene in the growing controversy over student health insurance policies. Pro-lifers are concerned that UNC system students who opt out of the abortion coverage in the policies might still be paying for their fellow students to get elective abortions.

(8.19.10) UNC Students Pay the Same Regardless of Abortion Coverage
RALEIGH — Even though they’re receiving less coverage, pro-life students will pay the same amount for their health plan as other students, leading some to wonder whether the abortion concession is meaningless.

(8.13.10) Pro-Lifers Push Ahead After Winning Abortion Opt-Out Concession
RALEIGH — Students won’t have to pay for elective abortion coverage in university-provided health insurance plans after the University of North Carolina Board of Governors created an opt-out, but pro-lifers call it a hollow victory because the generic plan continues funding the controversial procedure.

(8.10.10) UNC Health Plan Makes Students Pay for Abortion Coverage
RALEIGH — A new policy that requires students enrolled in the University of North Carolina system to purchase health insurance also forces them to pay for abortion coverage if they use the university's plan, a development that’s upsetting pro-life groups.

(3.16.10) Stam: Lawsuit Coming Over Health Plan Abortions
RALEIGH — Republican House Leader Paul “Skip” Stam has a message for local governments that plan to keep funding elective abortions with taxpayer dollars: a lawsuit is coming.

(3.12.10) Wake Dems Draft Resolution Restoring Tax-Funded Abortions
RALEIGH — After weeks of complaints from pro-choice advocates about partisan ties between Republicans on the Wake County Board of Commissioners and a pro-life state legislator, Wake County Democratic Party Chairman Jack Nichols has joined forces with liberal commissioners to reinstate coverage for elective abortions in the county’s employee health insurance plan.

(2.16.10) Counties, Metros Buy Abortions With Taxpayer Funds
RALEIGH — Tempers flared in Wake County Monday, when county commissioners met to consider nixing from their own health plan elective abortions, which are those deemed medically unnecessary. The meeting nearly deteriorated into a shouting match.

(2.10.10) Wake Commissioners to Debate Taxpayer-Funded Abortion
RALEIGH — At their meeting Monday, the Wake County Board of Commissioners will weigh whether to continue covering elective abortions — those considered unnecessary for medical reasons — in employee health insurance plans. The county’s current policy pays for family planning services, including abortion and birth control.