Which companies in the US are offering paid travel for employees who need abortion services?

Companies across the States have moved to support employees who need to have abortions
Abortion-rights activists
AP
Lowenna Waters4 July 2022

On Friday, a landmark ruling was passed in the United States by the Supreme Court that has overturned Roe vs Wade.

Roe vs Wade was a 1973 law, that legalised abortion nationwide in the United States. Now that it’s overturned, abortion in the United States is subject to individual state regulations.

The decision to overturn it was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by an emboldened right side of the court, fortified by three appointees of Donald Trump.

Now, a growing number of companies in the United States have decided to pay their employees’ travel costs, if they need to go and have an abortion.

Here are the companies that have pledged to do so.

Which companies in the United States will support employees who need to have abortions?

According to the New York Times, a list of companies covering costs of abortion for employees in the United States includes:

  • Warner Brothers said it would cover travel expenses for abortions.
  • Disney said it would cover travel expenses as well.
  • A representative for Meta said: “We intend to offer travel expense reimbursements, to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services. We are in the process of assessing how best to do so given the legal complexities involved.”
  • Bank of America said: “We have expanded the list of medical treatments that are eligible for travel expense reimbursement. This list will now includes cancer treatment, organ transplants at centers of excellence, reproductive health care including abortion, and hospital admissions for mental health conditions.”
  • Intuit said it would cover employee travel expenses to get abortions.
  • Condé Nast said it would cover travel and lodging for employees to get abortions.
  • Zillow said it would reimburse its employees up to $7,500 when significant travel is required for medical procedures including abortions.
  • Box, which had already said it would cover employee travel expenses for abortions, said it was “disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
  • Salesforce said it would relocate employees concerned about their ability to get abortions in Texas.
  • Patagonia reaffirmed its commitment to covering employee travel expenses for abortions: “Caring for employees extends beyond basic health insurance,” the company said on LinkedIn. “It means supporting employees’ choices around if or when they have a child.”
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would provide up to $4,000 in travel reimbursement for employees who live in states that restrict abortion access and that the policy would apply to any spouse or dependent covered by the company’s medical plan.
  • Lyft, which had previously said it would cover travel expenses for abortions, said the Supreme Court’s decision “will hurt millions of women by taking away access to safe, and private reproductive health care services.” It also said it was expanding its “legal defense commitment” to protecting drivers who may be sued for taking people to clinics. “No driver should have to ask a rider where they are going and why,” Lyft said.
  • Uber told The New York Times that they’d continue to cover “a range of reproductive health benefits, including pregnancy termination” and its commitment to covering travel expenses for employees accessing health care services. “We will also continue to stand behind drivers, reimbursing legal expenses if any driver is sued under state law for providing transportation on our platform to a clinic,” the company said.
  • BuzzFeed’s chief executive, Jonah Peretti, told staff on Friday that the company would provide stipends for employees who needed to travel for abortions.
  • Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and chief executive, called the decision a threat to gender equality in the workplace. Yelp had earlier pledged to cover travel expenses for abortion.
  • H&M said it would cover travel and transportation expenses for employees living in states where abortion is prohibited or restricted.
  • Vox Media said the company would cover travel expenses for employee abortions, and would also expand its pregnancy loss leave to cover people who get abortions.
  • Adobe told the New York Times: “We have and will always prioritize inclusive benefits to create a world-class culture for our employees.”
  • Google, which covers travel expenses for employee abortions, told its employees they could also apply to relocate “without justification.”
  • Starbucks announced earlier this year that it would cover employee travel expenses for abortions, and the company’s senior vice president, Sara Kelly, said in an interview on Friday that employees would be able to access this benefit confidentially. “It doesn’t matter what you believe, it doesn’t matter where you live, it’s about access to health care,” Ms. Kelly said.
  • Impossible Foods said it would cover travel, lodging, meals and child care for employees who need to travel to get abortions out of state.
  • Accenture, Expedia, URBN, Estée Lauder Companies, Chobani, Yahoo and Match Group said they would help cover travel for employees who needed health care procedures not provided locally.
  • Douglas Elliman said it would expand its health care coverage to reimburse employees who have to travel to get abortions.
  • Nike said it covered travel and lodging for employees who needed to travel to get health care procedures, including abortions.
  • Nordstrom told The Times: “While we had reason to believe this ruling was coming, we recognize that this news still weighs heavily on many of us,” company leaders wrote in a message to staff.
  • OpenSea said: “We are heartbroken, and frustrated, and overwhelmed by the challenge ahead of us,” company leaders said in a message to staff. “We believe that access to safe and legal abortion is absolutely critical to keeping women and those with female assigned reproductive systems healthy and empowered to make their own choices about their future, and to pursue their missions and ambitions.”
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers said: “I know that some of you will think that I haven’t said enough in this note and that some of you will think that I’ve said too much,” said the firm’s chairman in a message to staff this weekend. “What I hope you take away from it is that I care.”
  • Wells Fargo told its employees on Monday that the firm would expand its existing travel benefits for medical coverage to include reimbursement for abortion travel “in accordance with applicable law.”
  • Procter & Gamble told its employees on Tuesday that starting in January its health care plans will cover travel support for medical care not available close to home: “P&G supports our employees in having access to a wide range of health care options — including reproductive care — so they can determine what’s best for them and their families,” the company said.
  • Amazon told its employees on Friday: “We know that many Amazonians are experiencing strong emotions following the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. As a company with 1.6 million employees, there are a lot of different viewpoints on this topic across our team, and we work to be respectful of everyone’s perspectives while also taking care of and supporting our employees’ personal medical needs.”
  • Danone North America, which updated its health care benefits to cover abortion-related travel, said: “We are unequivocal in our support for gender equity. We believe reproductive rights fall squarely into that framework, that employees have the right to make personal decisions regarding their health and wellness, and our role is to support them in those decisions.”
  • Don’t Ban Equality, a coalition of businesses said more than 350 companies had signed its letter opposing restrictions on abortion access.

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