Dozens of American companies, big and small, are offering to cover travel costs for employees seeking abortions despite an array of potential legal and financial risks.
As Republican-led state legislatures and national antiabortion groups advance plans to stop people in states where abortion is banned from seeking the procedure elsewhere, corporations could find themselves or their employees criminally liable for helping to procure an abortion, experts say. And companies’ ability to provide abortion travel coverage to their employees will vary widely by location and the type of health plan they offer.
“Companies have apparently taken a stance that they are willing to shoulder that risk to send signals of support to their employees and the market,” said Meredith Kirshenbaum, an employment attorney at Goldberg Kohn in Chicago.
More than 80 companies — from household names such as Netflix, Target, Disney, JPMorgan and Procter & Gamble to smaller firms across tech, media and retail — have taken action in response to abortion bans, according to a tracker from Rhia Ventures, an investment fund focused on reproductive rights.
Many have said their health plans will cover medical travel for care not available near employee’s homes, including abortions. Patagonia offered to cover legal costs for employees arrested while “peacefully” protesting. Lyft and Parade are donating to abortion funds and other organizations dealing in reproductive-health care.
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