Disney, Meta, Paramount, J.P Morgan And Many U.S Companies To Pay Expenses For Employees Who Need To Travel For Abortion

Several major U.S companies have vowed to cover expenses for employees who need to travel for an abortion after the U.S Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade on Friday.

The landmark 1973 ruling recognised a woman's constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide.The ruling is likely to pave way for trigger laws banning termination to come into effect in at least 13 states: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Disney, Netflix, Paramount and Meta joined a growing list of companies including Apple, Citigroup that previously announced similar policies to pay for employee to travel for abortion in case they live in any states that pass anti-abortion laws.

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.” Close to half of the company's workforce in Florida, where Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy in April.

Paramount has reportedely sent a memo to employees as well confirming that the company would cover travel costs for abortions.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, announced that it would reimburse employees for expenses related to traveling out of state for an abortion.

Warner Bros. Discovery said it has expanded its healthcare benefits to cover employees who must go to other states to access abortion and reproductive care.

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.