Major US companies such as Disney, JP Morgan, Amazon and Meta will pay for the travel costs of employees who have to go to another state to have an abortion. Last Friday, the nationwide right to abortion was scrapped in the US, allowing states to decide for themselves whether it is allowed or not.
The US Supreme Court ruled Friday that abortion is no longer a right in the US. Abortion is now illegal in nine states – all states where Republicans are in power – and a further 12 states are in the process of banning them. That means that women in those states have to travel far if they want to have an abortion.
To keep the intervention still accessible, a number of companies have already agreed to pay for the travel costs. Disney told the 80,000 employees in Florida, where abortion has been banned since this weekend, to acknowledge the impact of the ruling and to provide workers with “extended access” to affordable health care. It does not matter where the staff member lives.
The investment bank JP Morgan also pays all travel costs for medical procedures, including abortions, according to an email sent to the news agency. Reuters could look into.
Other companies that have made similar announcements include the bank Goldman Sachs, Facebook parent company Meta, jeans maker Levi Strauss and taxi companies Lyft and Uber.
Amazon, Yelp and Citigroup, among others, had previously said they would cover the travel costs for an abortion.