As some states ban or regulate abortion following the Dobbs decision, numerous companies have announced they will provide financial assistance to employees traveling for abortions

As some states ban or regulate abortion following the Dobbs decision, numerous companies have announced they will provide financial assistance to employees traveling for abortions

Starbucks coffee shop. / AKS.9955/wikimedia. CC BY SA 4.0

Following the Dobbs ruling, some states have banned or restricted abortion, while a number of businesses have declared they will pay for their employees’ travel expenses for abortions.

The U.S. Supreme Court declared in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24 that the right to an abortion is not guaranteed by the Constitution. As a result, states are now free to outlaw abortion.

While abortion is still allowed in some jurisdictions, many have already passed trigger laws that would automatically outlaw the procedure.

Some well-known businesses have declared they will assist workers in areas where they are unable to obtain abortions by paying the travel expenses related to the procedure through their health insurance.

According to a June 24 announcement by Dick’s Sporting Goods, any employee, spouse, or dependent covered by its medical plan who needs an abortion in a state where it is prohibited will receive up to $4,000 in travel expenses.

The firm stated, “We know people feel strongly about this topic- and that there will be colleagues and players who will disagree with this choice.

Additionally, the statement stated that it considers these choices to be “very personal.”

Some businesses, like Levi Strauss and Co. and Starbucks, will cover all costs associated with obtaining a woman’s legal right to an abortion.

We will offer partners registered in the Starbucks healthcare plan a medical travel reimbursement benefit to seek an abortion, according to a statement from Starbucks.

According to The Hill, Amazon, Yelp, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Mastercard, Lyft, Disney, Meta, Comcast, Airbnb, Patagonia, DoorDash, PayPal, Reddit, Meta, Zillow, and Uber are among the firms making comparable offers.

In response to either the May 2 leak of a draft of the judgment or the Texas legislation prohibiting abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, some of the companies had announced travel aid for abortion before the Dobbs judgement was made public.