A host of major companies began announcing plans to cover employee travel expenses for abortions after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade on Friday, including Disney, Netflix, Paramount and Meta.
A 6-3 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks, while the Court voted 5-4 to overturn Roe, returning the question of abortion to the states. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, says “the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.”
Disney, which employs 195,000 employees worldwide, announced it would cover the cost of travel for “family planning” for any worker who cannot access care where they live, including “pregnancy-related decisions.”
The company has some 80,000 employees in Florida, where Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy in April. The bill, which is scheduled to take effect July 1, allows exemptions for women who face life-threatening or serious injuries from pregnancy, or if the fetus has a fatal defect.
“We recognize the impact of the ruling and that we remain committed to providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, no matter where they live,” Disney told the Washington Post.
Paramount Global leaders sent a memo to staff Friday saying the company intends to cover travel costs for employees to receive services covered through company-sponsored health insurance where those services, including abortion, are prohibited, Variety reported.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said in a statement to the outlet that it intends “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,” a spokesperson for Meta said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that it will reimburse as much as $4,000 in abortion travel expenses “to the nearest location where that care is legally available” for employees, their spouses and dependents in areas where abortion is restricted.
“We recognize people feel passionately about this topic — and that there are teammates and athletes who will not agree with this decision,” chief executive Lauren Hobart said on LinkedIn. “However, we also recognize that decisions involving health and families are deeply personal and made with thoughtful consideration. We are making this decision so our teammates can access the same health care options, regardless of where they live, and choose what is best for them.”
A Netflix spokesperson told Variety that the company offers a $10,000 lifetime allowance per full-time employee and/or their dependents per service for travel for “cancer treatment, transplants, gender affirming care, or abortion — through our U.S. health plans.”
Warner Bros. Discovery has expanded its “healthcare benefits options to cover transportation expenses for employees and their covered family members who need to travel to access abortion and reproductive care,” a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Variety.
Sony employees in the U.S. also receive reimbursement for travel if it is required to access healthcare services available under its health plan, according to the report.
Beginning in July, JPMorgan Chase is plans to extend travel benefits for U.S. employees enrolled in the company’s medical plan, as well as their partners and dependents, to apply toward any covered service that can only be obtained more than 50 miles from an employee’s home, according to the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Lyft said that its U.S. medical benefits plan includes coverage for “elective abortion and reimbursement for travel costs” for employees who must travel more than 100 miles for an in-network provider.
In September, Lyft and Uber announced they would pay the legal fees for any of their drivers who are sued under a Texas law that prohibits abortion after a heartbeat can be detected.
The law allows private citizens to enforce the measure. Though patients may not be sued, any individual can sue the people “knowingly” assisting the procedure, including doctors, those paying for the abortion and clinic workers. Plaintiffs in litigation cases resulting from the law’s implementation can earn up to $10,000 in damages.
However, it is unlikely that the law would apply to rideshare drivers, as they would be unlikely to “knowingly” transport a woman who was having an abortion after a heartbeat had been detected.
Lyft announced at the time that it would create a defense fund to completely cover any legal fees incurred by drivers because of the law and also pledged to donate $1 million to Planned Parenthood.
In response to the Texas law, Apple previously said it would cover medical expenses for workers in the Lone Star state who may have to go elsewhere to receive an abortion, while Salesforce offered to relocate workers.
Amazon previously announced last month it would cover $4,000 in travel costs for U.S. workers enrolled in the company health care plan who are seeking medical care, including abortion and sex-change surgery.