The threat of abortion-related legal liability in Texas has raised hard-to-answer questions about companies’ plans to help employees travel for out-of-state procedures—including how much sensitive employee information a company could be forced to disclose in court.
Following the US Supreme Court’s decision last month to strike down the constitutional right to abortion, 26 states have banned or are expected to ban most abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. In response, a long list of major US employers and large law firms announced they will provide travel reimbursement or other benefits to employees who can’t access abortion services in their home state.
Texas is front and center in the abortion rights battle, drawing attention last year for a new whistleblower-type law (SB 8) that lets an individual sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion and receive a $10,000 reward. Now, a group of conservative Texas lawmakers is warning employers who offer travel assistance or health-care benefits for abortion procedures or medications that they could be sued and also face criminal charges.
Members of the Texas Freedom Caucus in a July 7 letter accused law firm Sidley Austin LLP of assisting with illegal abortions since Sept. 1, 2021, when SB 8 took effect, and warned the firm to preserve any related...
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