Students for Life of America (SFLA) has criticized the governor of
North Carolina for failing to investigate the use of federal funds to
pay for abortion coverage in the University of North Carolina's
insurance plan.
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue thanked Students for Life of
America in a letter for notifying her office of the concern, but did
not indicate that any action would be taken, saying only, "I understand
you are also communicating with the University of North Carolina system
about this issue." SFLA revealed last month that federal funds are
being used to pay for abortion coverage in the UNC health insurance
plan, in which students are automatically enrolled.
“It is ridiculous the Governor of North Carolina has refused our
request for an investigation," SFLA executive director Kristan Hawkins
said upon receiving Perdue's letter. "The fact that there could be
federal funds at stake in this issue should deeply trouble any public
servant. The citizens of North Carolina, most especially the students
in the UNC system deserve to know the truth.”
LifeSiteNews.com attempted to contact Governor Perdue's office for
further comment on the response, but calls were not returned.
In response to the student group's efforts, the University of North
Carolina has said they would allow students to opt-out of the
abortion-covering health care; however, SFLA's Hawkins expressed
concern that funds from students opting-out would nonetheless end up
paying for other students' abortions.
SFLA says it will continue to demand that abortion be removed
completely from the UNC System’s health care policy and is
investigating the use of federal funds to pay for parts of the plan.