On Friday, The Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, a case that, almost 50 years ago, made abortion a federally protected practice. The decision means that states will now have the right to determine whether or not to allow the practice of abortion within their borders. Within hours, some states have already begun to ban the practice outright.
In light of this, companies are beginning to offer to fund travel across state lines for their employees. Alaska Airlines, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Lyft are just a few examples.
In a statement Friday, Alaska Airlines Senior Vice President of People Andy Schneider said, “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.”
Schneider continued, “this includes reimbursing travel for certain medical procedures and treatments if they are not available where you live,” saying the “Supreme Court decision does not change that.”
Schneider isn’t alone in the announcement. Dick’s Sporting Goods’ CEO Lauren Hobart made a similar announcement on LinkedIn, stating that, “We at DICK’s Sporting Goods are 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.”
Hobart continued, “In response to today’s ruling, we are announcing that if a state one of our teammates lives in restricts access to abortion, DICK’S Sporting Goods will provide up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement to travel to the nearest location where that care is legally available. This benefit will be provided to any teammate, spouse or dependent enrolled in our medical plan, along with one support person.”
After a draft opinion stating that the case could be overturned was leaked in May, other companies have begun making plans or preparing for the possibility of such a ruling.
Below are some of the companies that have reportedly taken steps to provide travel costs for abortions:
- Alaska Airlines
- Alloy
- Amalgamated Bank
- Amazon
- Airbnb
- Apple
- Bloomberg
- Bumble
- Citigroup
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Disney
- GoDaddy
- Gucci
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- Levi Strauss & Co.
- Lyft
- MatchGroup
- Microsoft
- Salesforce
- Starbucks
- Tesla
- Yelp
- Uber
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