Companies promise to pay travel expenses for employees’ medical treatment, including travel for an abortion.
QUICK FACTS:
- Amazon became the most recent corporation to “support abortion access” by offering to reimburse employees and dependents for expenses related to seeking an abortion outside of their state.
- CNN reported that companies have spoken out in the wake of restrictions on abortions in 25 states, offering extra support for mothers looking to end the life of their unborn.
- Amazon offered to pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for medical treatments including abortions, similar announcements being made by Citigroup, Yelp, Uber, and Lyft.
- Other companies offering added benefits for those seeking an out-of-region pregnancy termination include Bumble, Levi Strauss, Match Group, and Salesforce.
DATING APP COMPANIES LED THE CHARGE TO ENSURE ABORTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES:
- The trend of assisting women in ending the pregnancy of their unborn despite state laws prohibiting it was kicked off by popular dating app companies Bumble and Match.
- These companies announced the initiative shortly after Texas passed its six-week abortion ban, causing the two Texas-based companies to “support the reproductive rights” of their employees.
- “Bumble is women-founded and women-led, and from day one we’ve stood up for the most vulnerable. We’ll keep fighting against regressive laws like #SB8,” it said on Twitter, referring to the state law that was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May and took effect this week.
- Match Group, who also own dating apps, Tinder, Plenty of Fish, OkCupid, and Hinge, also weighed in with CEO Shar Dubey saying they were creating a fund to ensure their employees and dependents could seek care outside of the state to end their pregnancy:
- “The company generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business. But in this instance, I personally, as a woman in Texas, could not keep silent,” Dubey said in an internal memo.
- “Surely everyone should see the danger of this highly punitive and unfair law that doesn’t even make an exception for victims of rape or incest. I would hate for our state to take this big step back in women’s rights,” she added.
- Previously, Lyft (LYFT) CEO Logan Green said on Twitter his company would create a legal defense fund to protect drivers sued for breaking state law by driving a person who receives an abortion.
BACKGROUND:
- Earlier this week a leak of the first draft of what appears to be a majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade caused shockwaves across the nation.
- However, a recently profiled Fox News poll showed that the majority of Americans want at least some abortion restrictions: “Most Americans believe abortion should be either ‘mostly’ or ‘always’ illegal, and support banning abortion after 15 weeks … 54 percent favor banning abortion in their respective state after 15 weeks of pregnancy, compared to 41 percent who oppose.”
