United States: employers move to protect abortion access

It’s official. The right to an abortion is no longer guaranteed across the United States, following a ruling by the Supreme Court, which allows each US state to put in place its own legislation. The move by the court to overturn the Roe v Wade decision, which had applied since 1973, is prompting employers to publicly affirm their support for employees who wish to have an abortion but are based in states where it is now prohibited. States including Missouri, Louisiana, Kentucky, South Dakota, Alabama and Arkansas have already banned abortion and other states are expected to follow. Many companies have followed in the footsteps of those such as Levi Strauss and Patagonia, which promised before the Supreme Court’s ruling to cover the cost for staff of travelling to a neighbouring state where abortion is still legal (see article n°13044). Major banks such as JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have included travel expenses in their employee healthcare plans. Other companies to pledge their support to female employees seeking an abortion include Warner Bros, Buzzfeed, Vox Media, Snap, Intuit, Macy’s department stores, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Condé Nast, the parent company of Vogue magazine. Dick’s Sporting Goods, which has over 850 stores, is willing to provide staff with up to $4,000 to cover travel and hotel expenses. The New York Times calculates that a quarter of the women affected will be more than 300 kilometres away from an abortion clinic.