Roe vs Wade: US Firms to Support Employees Seeking Abortion in Outlawed States

A protest in support of the right to abortion. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@alexandrawimley)

In light of the US Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe vs Wade (1973), many US companies are gearing up to provide support and financial assistance to their employees seeking abortions in states that have outlawed it or will outlaw in the near future.

Some of the companies, according to The Guardian, that will aid their employees in travelling to Democrat-ruled states where abortions are legal, are Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Meta, and Disney.

"We will continue to provide benefits that support our colleagues' family planning choices wherever we are legally permitted to do so," Citi’s head of HR, Sara Wechter, wrote to employees last week on Friday, as soon as the SC decision hit the media.

These companies will add "critical healthcare" to the employees' benefit packages.

Goldman Sachs also said it would cover travel expenses from 1 July, Reuters reported, and Meta also said it intended to reimburse travel "for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care" expenses in all those states where abortion was legal.

The US Supreme Court on Friday, 24 June, overturned Roe vs Wade, a landmark case that constitutionally protected abortion rights for almost 50 years.

Restrictions on abortions are expected in about half of the states in the country, ruled by the Republican Party.

(With inputs from The Guardian, BBC, and Reuters.)