Disney and other companies pledge to cover out-of-state employee abortions

The Walt Disney Co., publishing giant Conde Nast and investment firm JPMorgan Chase were among major U.S. companies that pledged on Friday to cover travel costs for employees seeking out-of-state abortions. State, following the overturning of the US Supreme Court’s decision. Roe v. Wade.

The decision removed constitutional protection for abortion, leaving the matter to individual states, 13 of which were poised to immediately ban the procedure.

Florida, home to Walt Disney World, currently bans abortions after 15 weeks. Disney benefits will cover the costs of those who must travel for health care, including abortions, a company spokesperson said Friday. The company, which recently fell out with state lawmakers over the controversial « Don’t Say Gay » bill, had previously declined to comment on a potential reversal.

Other major media companies — Sony, Paramount, Comcast, Warner Bros., Discovery and Netflix — have also said they will reimburse travel costs for out-of-state abortions.

Airbnb, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Patagonia have made similar promises. The Gap, in a statement, noted that its benefits cover abortion and other family planning services, but did not specify travel costs.

Senior executives at other companies — Meta’s outgoing COO Sheryl Sandberg, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman — condemned the decision as a step backwards for people’s rights. women.

« Business leaders must step up to support the health and safety of their employees by speaking out against the wave of abortion bans that will be unleashed as a result of this decision, and calling on Congress to codify Roe into law, » wrote Stoppelman in a statement.

Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of dating app Bumble, said her company would continue to support reproductive rights by donating to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. OkCupid encouraged people to reach out to their elected officials, in an Instagram post.

Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, Starbucks and Microsoft have all previously said they will also cover travel costs for employees seeking out-of-state health care.

In September, Uber said it would cover the legal costs of any driver sued for dropping people off at abortion clinics. That same month, Salesforce offered to help Texas employees relocate, after that state, along with Mississippi, passed « heartbeat bills » effectively banning early abortions.