But at least one official says the issue - whether or not to cover elective abortions under the town health policy - is a conversation worth having. And if it isn't addressed head on, there could be another way.

"It's a contentious issue. Citizens are on different sides of it," Councilwoman Jennifer Robinson said. "... It would be appropriate for council to give staff direction."

If the council does not address the policy in an upcoming meeting, it could be brought up when budget discussions start in March, Robinson said. "I would not vote to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize or pay for elective abortions," she said.

Her comments come weeks after Apex and Wake County officials removed coverage of some abortions from their employees' insurance plan.

Robinson gauged council's interest on the topic after Apex made their decision, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said.

But late last week, he said he had not yet heard of similar interest from other council members.

Weinbrecht said he wasn't opposed to talking about elective abortion coverage during the budget process but added those discussions would need to consider cost, not morals.

"The moral issues are decided at the Supreme Court, not the Cary Town Council," he said. "If you're going to take one item out of the health care plan, you might as well do a comprehensive review of the plan."

Because the town's self-funded health insurance policy starts its new cycle July 1, the issue of covering medically unnecessary abortions would be a natural part of budget conversation, Robinson said.

"When we do the annual budget for the town, we address insurance matters at the same time," she said.

'On our radar'

Councilman Don Frantz said that the entire Town Council is trying to vet the issue. "It is on our radar screen," he said. "I think there is a lot of merit to what Apex has done."

Interest in the issue is gaining some steam among others in Cary.

Michelle Muir, who sits on the town's Planning and Zoning Board, started a Facebook group - "End Cary Taxpayer Funded Abortion" - after the Apex vote.

Muir helped run Robinson's District A campaign last year and now manages Frantz's campaign for the House District 35 seat. The Facebook group has more than 300 members.

A description on the group's page reads: "Currently, the Town of Cary provides taxpayer-supported employee insurance covering elective, on-demand abortion as a form of birth control.

"Polls show that citizens may be divided on the issue of abortion, but they are not divided on the issue of who pays for it.

"People are overwhelmingly opposed to the use of tax dollars to support abortion."

Request for review

Last week, Apex Councilman Bill Jensen said he wanted the state to weigh in on the town's recent decision.

At an Apex council meeting Tuesday, Jensen proposed asking the attorney general "to provide a definitive legal interpretation of decisions previously made and what the rights of towns are in this issue related to providing or not providing for elective abortions."

His effort failed for lack of a second to his motion.

The move came less than a month after Apex council members - including Jensen - voted to end coverage of employees' abortions except in cases of incest, rape or danger to the life of the mother.

Jensen said the decision had weighed on his conscience, and he was regretful that he voted without complete information. He criticized Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly for adding the issue to the agenda the same day of the meeting.

Statewide strategy

Apex's unanimous vote set a precedent in the Triangle, one which Jensen says is part of a statewide push to end county and municipal coverage of elective abortions.

Wake County made their decision after Apex but instead chose to remove the procedure from its benefits package administratively.

The county's decision to cut coverage came after Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican and long-time abortion foe, told Wake County attorney Scott Warren that the county could be sued if it continued to cover elective abortions, Warren said.

Stam was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that ended in a 1981 state Supreme Court decision that said counties could not use tax dollars to pay for abortions for indigent women. Stam's legislative assistant is Weatherly, mayor of Apex.

"These guys are going after everybody in the state," Jensen said.

Stam sent an e-mail with copies of the 1981 ruling to county managers across the state a little over a week ago, according to Ellis Hankins, executive director of the N.C. League of Municipalities.

The next day, Hankins sent a memo to town managers, attorneys and clerks saying: "The General Assembly has provided broad statutory authority and discretion to city councils to determine employee benefits, including the scope of health insurance coverage. League staff attorneys respectfully disagree with contrary opinions that have been expressed."

Stam did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Legal analysis

The League's interpretation matches an American Civil Liberties Union analysis written after Apex's initial decision.

That report found that state statutes allow local governments -- counties, cities and towns -- to provide benefits without restrictions on abortion coverage.

The ACLU report also said the Stam court case -- which said counties are not authorized to levy property taxes in order to pay for abortion services for indigent women -- was not applicable.

"It's a creative interpretation," said Sarah Preston, the ACLU's legislative director. "But they're making a tenuous connection with a case that has nothing to do with local governments providing health insurance to their employees."

Cary's lawyers have also found coverage of the procedure to be well within the rights of the municipality, Weinbrecht said.

He added that there hasn't been a single abortion expenditure made by the town in over three years.

"This has all become very political," he said. "We should discuss moral issues at the national level, cost issues at the local level. A local official's opinion on abortion shouldn't matter."

Staff writers Jordan Cooke and Thomas Goldsmith contributed to this report.