After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, several businesses announced that they would fund employees’ decisions to seek abortions in other states.
The 1973 opinion — which argued that the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution protects abortion — was overturned through the court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. After Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion leaked in early May, businesses started announcing that they would pay travel expenses for employees trying to obtain abortions.
On Friday, several more companies followed suit.
“Our company remains committed to removing barriers and providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, no matter where they live,” executives from entertainment conglomerate Disney said in a memo obtained by CNBC.
Disney employs 75,000 people in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) recently signed legislation banning abortions after 15 weeks gestation.
“We have processes in place so that an employee who may be unable to access care in one location has affordable coverage for receiving similar levels of care in another location,” the executives continued. “This travel benefit covers medical situations related to cancer treatments, transplants, rare disease treatment and family planning (including pregnancy-related decisions).”
DICK’S Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart said on Friday that the company is “prepared to ensure that all of our teammates have consistent and safe access to the benefits we provide, regardless of the state in which they live.”
“In response to today’s ruling, we are announcing that if a state one of our teammates lives in restricts access to abortion, DICK’S Sporting Goods will provide up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement to travel to the nearest location where that care is legally available,” she continued. “This benefit will be provided to any teammate, spouse or dependent enrolled in our medical plan, along with one support person.”
In a June 1 memo published on Friday by CNBC, investment bank JPMorgan Chase — which already covered abortions — revealed that it will also pay for employees to obtain them out-of-state.
The memo linked to a question-and-answer page asking, “Will you pay for an employee to travel to another state to seek an abortion if their state won’t allow them to get one?”
“Yes. Our health care plans have historically covered travel benefits for certain covered services that would require travel,” JPMorgan said. “Beginning in July, we will expand this benefit to include all covered services that can only be obtained far from your home, which would include legal abortion.”
Clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss said in early May that “business leaders need to make their voices heard and act to protect the health and well-being of our employees.”
“Under our current benefits plan, Levi Strauss & Co. employees are eligible for reimbursement for healthcare-related travel expenses for services not available in their home state, including those related to reproductive health care and abortion,” the company said in a press release.
After Roe was overturned, Levi Strauss again affirmed that it would oppose “any steps to restrict access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion” in the name of “gender and racial equity.”
A report released in May by electric carmaker Tesla showed that the company added “travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state” to its safety net and health insurance offerings last year. Tesla recently moved its headquarters to Texas, and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) announced on Friday that “abortion is now illegal” in the Lone Star State.
Likewise, e-commerce giant Amazon said that it would provide as much as $4,000 in travel expenses for employees who want to go out of state to get an abortion.
Companies with similar policies include Starbucks, Citigroup, Yelp, Apple, Match, and Bumble.
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids entertainment content.)
Source: Dailywire
