WASHINGTON (Archyde.com) – U.S. companies including Walt Disney Co and Facebook parent Meta said on Tuesday they would provide travel subsidies for employees who must travel abroad to have an abortion, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned constitutional guarantees for abortion.
However, businesses that provide abortion-related subsidies could be vulnerable to lawsuits and even criminal penalties from anti-abortion groups and Republican states. Lawyers and experts say employers could be charged with company policies that violate state laws that prohibit, facilitate or facilitate and abet abortions.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed abortion rights, giving states the power to ban abortions. A number of states are expected to further restrict or ban abortions as a result, making it mandatory for female employees to go to a state where it is legal to do so or face fines, in some states as much as $100,000 or 10 years in prison.
According to a Walt Disney Co. spokesman, the company told employees today that it remains committed to providing comprehensive benefits so that employees can receive high-quality medical care, including travel expenses for out-of-town abortions.
A spokesman for Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Facebook, said employees travelling across state lines to seek reproductive care services would be reimbursed, but the company was also evaluating how best to proceed “given the legal complexities involved.” But Meta also began limiting internal discussions about the Supreme Court ruling.
According to a post by a Seattle Meta employee on the social platform LinkedIn, the moderators of the forum Workplace removed posts mentioning abortion, citing a “respectful communication” policy that prohibits employees from discussing political topics. Moderators also removed a link to a Facebook post in which outgoing chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg condemned the ruling. A Meta spokesman declined to comment on internal policies when asked about limiting internal discussions.
After a draft Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights was revealed in May, a number of companies said they would help pay for travel expenses for employees seeking reproductive services, including online review sites Yelp, Microsoft, Tesla and others.
Apple has also reiterated its support for employees to make their own decisions about reproductive health, and subsidizes travel expenses if there are no related services nearby.
Editor: Qin Yingwen
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