Nashville to explore covering city employees' abortion travel expenses

The Nashville Metro Council passed a resolution Tuesday supporting health coverage for Metro employees who travel out of state for medical procedures not available in Tennessee, including abortions.

The resolution, which expresses the Council's will and is not legally binding, asks the Metro Employee Benefit Board to review current medical coverage for employees. If necessary, members asked the board to extend coverage to include reimbursement for transportation, accommodation and other costs of out-of-state procedures unavailable in Tennessee.

The resolution passed unanimously with the exception of Council member Joy Styles, who abstained from the vote.

"I really want to commend the sponsor and everyone that is fighting for all the women that need a voice and need assistance. It is critical, and I appreciate all of you," Styles said. "I am going to have to abstain from this vote, in regards to board affiliation."

Styles is president of the board of directors of the Hope Clinic for Women, a faith-based pregnancy center that recently made headlines after a Molotov cocktail was thrown through its window in June, but did not ignite. Gov. Bill Lee also serves on the center's advisory board.

Council members Burkley Allen, Delishia Porterfield and Erin Evans late-filed the resolution earlier this month, but it was not taken up during the council's July 5 meeting after a suspension of the rules was rejected. The council passed a separate resolution on July 5 expressing the council's wish to mitigate enforcement of state abortion restrictions.

RELATED: Nashville council takes stance against abortion ban enforcement

The resolution supporting coverage of out-of-state medical care passed with sponsorships from Allen, Porterfield and Evans, along with council members Emily Benedict, Bob Mendes, Sean Parker, Freddie O'Connell, Ginny Welsch, Nancy VanReece, Gloria Hausser, Dave Rosenberg, and Tom Cash.

Welsch said the council should speak in favor of abortion because the U.S. Supreme Court, which she called "illegitimate," is attempting to strip women's rights.

"We can't have the rights of people being at the whim of an illegitimate power grab by an illegitimate court," Welsch said. "It needs to be very clearly stated that we will take care of the needs of all our Metro employees."

Council member Robert Nash said he supported the resolution as he thinks it helps keep abortion safe, rare and legal, but that it is dangerous to call the Supreme Court illegitimate.

"I would caution some of our members about using things like 'illegitimate court.' We have the other side that's saying we have an illegitimate president," Nash said. "We'll get more cooperation, maybe, from the folks that we need to get some cooperation to deal with this issue."

Porterfield said this resolution will impact more than just women.

"By providing transportation, accommodation and related costs, we are offering health care for our employees and taking care of the people that are taking care of us," Porterfield said. "This is not only going to benefit women, this also benefits trans men, non-binary individuals, anyone with a uterus that is able to reproduce."

Council member Kathleen Murphy noted the resolution also supports coverage of procedures not offered in Tennessee that are not abortion, opening more health care resources for all Metro employees.

Council members are also considering a bill that would encourage government contractors to cover their employees' out-of-state procedures, including abortions. The bill proposes an amendment to the 2017 Do Better Bill, which requires Metro to weigh the common good when considering granting incentives to companies that contract with the city government.

Benedict and At-large Council member Bob Mendes are sponsoring the bill, which passed its first of three readings on consent on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville to explore covering city employees' abortion travel expenses