Women, childbearing humans, and allies are currently living through one of the single saddest days in America’s modern history after the United States Supreme Court officially abolished the landmark 1973 Roe Vs. Wade decision that secured a nationwide right to abortion — effectively sending women and uterus-owning humans kicking and screaming back to the 1950s, as the decision on abortion rights now lie on a state level only, allowing rich, white Republicans to make life-altering, uninformed, and potentially fatal decisions regarding the lives and bodies of people they don’t even know.
Already, several states across the nation had “trigger laws” ready and waiting to pull the proverbial trigger on highly restrictive abortion legislation, some of which will outlaw the procedures entirely. All in all, almost half of the American states will soon see partial or full bans against abortions.
But the massive, multi-billion-dollar companies in this country are pushing back.
On the heels of the heinous Supreme Court decision this morning, masses from corporate America are screaming a big “Fuck you!” to those in our government who are apparently on the warpath to instill an American version of The Handmaid’s Tale.
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Alaska Airlines Senior Vice President of People Andy Schneider released a statement in the wake of this morning’s news confirming, “We will continue, just as we always have, to provide employees with extensive benefits to support your health and well-being, no matter where you live.”
“This includes reimbursing travel for certain medical procedures and treatments if they are not available where you live,” Schneider said, adding that the “Supreme Court decision does not change that.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart took to LinkedIn and wrote that 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.”
The sporting goods company stands prepared to provide its employees with up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement for any employee who is forced to travel to acquire an abortion procedure if their state has outlawed the healthcare right.
“This benefit will be provided to any teammate, spouse, or dependent enrolled in our medical plan, along with one support person,” Hobart confirmed.
Earlier this month, JPMorgan sent out an internal email noting that its “health care plans have historically covered travel benefits for certain covered services that would require travel.”
The finance company confirmed that they will be expanding those benefits next month to include all covered medical services that can now only be acquired far away from an employee’s home. JPMorgan specifically noted that this includes abortion services.
Numerous multi-billion-dollar companies have been signaling their support for women and childbearing individuals since the original Supreme Court opinion draft was first leaked.
Back in May, Starbucks’ acting executive vice president of partner resources, Sara Kelly, sent out a memo confirming that all employees who are enrolled in the company’s health insurance plan will be reimbursed “for eligible travel expenses when accessing abortion or gender-affirming procedures” if the services have to be acquired more than 100 miles of their home.
“Regardless of what the Supreme Court ends up deciding, we will always ensure our partners have access to quality health care,” Kelly said. “And when actions impact your access to health care, we will work on a way to make sure you feel supported.”
Additional corporate companies to show similar support and offer similar travel reimbursement for out-of-state abortion procedures include: Microsoft Corp., Airbnb, Tesla, Citigroup, Yelp, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Gucci, Uber, and more.
Featured image via Flickr/American Life League
