Major corporations, including Disney, JP Morgan, and Meta, the owner of Facebook, have informed their employees that they will cover travel expenses for abortions, as millions of American women face restricted access.
It follows a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which invalidated the constitutional right to abortion.
The decision allows individual states to prohibit the procedure.
Amazon and other companies had already announced similar moves.
Since the ruling, however, an increasing number of employers have confirmed they will cover travel expenses for employees who leave their home state for abortion under their health insurance plans.
Disney stated that it had informed its employees that it understood the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision and remained committed to providing them with “comprehensive access” to affordable healthcare, including family planning and reproductive care “regardless of where they live.”
Disney employs approximately 80,000 people at its Florida resort, where a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy went into effect on 1 July after being signed by the governor.
According to an internal memo dated 1 June and seen by the Reuters news agency, the banking giant JP Morgan informed its US employees that it would cover travel expenses for medical services, including “legal abortions.
A bank spokesperson stated on Friday, “We are committed to the health and well-being of our employees and want to ensure equitable access to all benefits.
According to Reuters, another prominent US investment bank, Goldman Sachs, announced it would cover travel expenses for employees who needed to travel to another state for an abortion beginning July 1.
The social media company Meta stated that it would reimburse travel expenses, where allowed by law, “for employees who require them to access out-of-state medical care.”
Given the legal complexities involved, we are evaluating how best to proceed, a spokesperson added.
Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue, Levi Strauss, and Lyft and Uber, ride-hailing services, are among the other companies that have indicated they will take similar steps.
A spokesperson for Lyft added that “no driver should be required to ask a passenger where they are going and why”
Several other businesses, including Amazon, the review website Yelp, and the banking behemoth Citigroup, had previously stated that they would reimburse employees who travel to circumvent local abortion restrictions.
CEO of Yelp Jeremy Stoppelman tweeted that the court’s decision “threatens the health of women” and that “business leaders must speak out.
Individual states will now decide whether or not to allow abortions. Abortion will not automatically become illegal in the United States.
Thirteen states have already enacted abortion-banning “trigger laws” that take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, over twenty states have taken steps to restrict access.
Republicans who oppose abortion are likely to retaliate against businesses that offer to cover the cost of travel to another state for the procedure.
Legislators in Texas have already threatened Citigroup and Lyft with legal action, and the state’s Republican Party chairman, Matt Rinaldi, has urged Republicans to avoid using Citi’s services.
Abortion is a contentious issue in the United States. According to a recent Pew survey, 61% of adults believe abortion should be legal all or most of the time, while 37% believe it should be illegal all or most of the time.
