After being fairly silent on the subject for months in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that eliminated a universal right to abortion, Walmart, the biggest employer in the country, is now increasing its abortion coverage for workers.
The corporation said in a message sent to staff on Friday that abortion would now be covered under employee health insurance plans “where there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, or loss of foetal viability.”
According to Donna Morris, the retailer’s chief people officer, the new policy will also provide “travel assistance” for employees and dependents covered by their health care plans so they may access treatments that are not offered within 100 miles of their locations.
In the United States, Walmart employs close to 1.6 million people. Abortion is illegal in Arkansas, where the business is situated, unless it is required to save the mother’s life in the event of a medical emergency. Rape and incest have no exclusions.
When contacted for comment on whether the company’s health plan or travel assistance would cover elective abortions, a Walmart spokesman did not respond right away.
According to a copy of the policy seen by The Associated Press but not confirmed by Walmart, the company’s benefits plan had previously only covered abortion in situations “when the health of the mother would be in danger if the foetus were carried to term, the foetus could not survive the birthing process, or death would be imminent after birth.”
Following the high court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, several businesses, including Meta, American Express, and Bank of America, have announced they would pay for the travel expenses of their workers.