Overturning of Roe v Wade leads US firms to pledge payments for staff abortion travel costs

The overturning of Roe v Wade has led to a number of US companies promising to pay for their employees' travel costs if they need to go out of state in order to have an abortion.

The overturning of Roe v Wade in the US means that safe abortions will soon become illegal in certain states. 13 states including Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Idaho have 'trigger laws' in place which will come into effect shortly as of June 24, when Roe v Wade was overturned. This means that in some states - such as Louisiana or Utah- abortion is now illegal, and in other states - such as North Dakota or Wyoming -  abortion will be illegal within 30 days of June 24. 

While there are still many states in the US that will continue to maintain the human right for people to access safe abortions, many people who are living and working in these 'red states' that have criminalized abortion, will suffer.

To try and ensure the safety of their employees, many companies have introduced employee abortion benefits. This means that they will assist their workers by paying their travel costs if they need to travel out of state in order to safely receive an abortion. Companies introducing benefits schemes and covering staff travel expenses include Disney, Dicks Sporting Goods, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Netflix. 

Disney has promised employees access to safe and legal abortions, and an internal email from Paul Richardson, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Pascale Thomas, Vice President, Enterprise Benefits and Well-Being at Disney, were leaked online.

Speaking openly about their commitment, a Disney spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Post, "We have communicated directly with our employees today that we recognize the impact of the ruling and that we remain committed to 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."

Dick's Sporting Goods announced that they would be providing up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement for employees to travel to a location that will legally provide them with abortion care. This benefit was also extended to any spouse or dependent enrolled in their medical work plan.

A Dick's employee went viral when she shared her emotional reaction to this news on social media and broke down as she read out this announcement from CEO Lauren Hobart on June 24.

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"In light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, we immediately expanded our health care benefits options to cover transportation expenses for employees and their covered family members who need to travel to access abortion and reproductive care," said a company spokesperson for Warner Brothers.

Netflix announced they would offer up to $10,000 in travel reimbursements to employees and dependents who are in need of abortions, cancer treatment, transplants, or gender-affirming care.

Paramount, who have just released Paramount +, also confirmed that they would be offering travel reimbursement for employees who need abortions.

Other companies are offering similar benefits to employees and have announced their commitment to ensuring their employees safety with access to abortions. 

Meta, JP Morgan, Reddie, Zillow, Condé Nast, Lyft, Uber, Bank of America, Buzzfeed, Yelp, H&M, and Starbucks, are among some of the businesses who have also made similar commitments since the overturning of Roe v Wade.

If you want to help support abortion rights in the US, there are a number of abortion funds in the US that help those in need of abortions. Supporting these charities financially will help people needing abortions find funding procedures, abortion pills, transportation, lodging, childcare, doulas, and emotional support.