NEW YORK, June 25 ― US companies including Walt Disney Co and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc said yesterday they will cover employees' expenses if they have to travel for abortion services after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.
For example, in Oklahoma a bill due to take effect in August bans abortion except in medical emergencies and penalises providers who violate the law with up to US$100,000 in fines and 10 years in prison. States offering abortion protections include New York and Maryland. Facebook owner Meta will reimburse travel expenses for employees seeking out-of-state reproductive care, but the company was also “assessing how best to do so given the legal complexities involved,” according to a spokesperson.
The Meta spokesperson declined to comment on internal policy when asked about the reports of limiting internal discussion.Dick's Sporting Goods Chief Executive Lauren Hobart said on LinkedIn that the company would pay up to US$4,000 in travel for employees or their family members and a support person if abortion was not available nearby.
Ride hailing company Lyft said it would legally shield drivers in abortion cases, saying it would expand a recent policy as new state laws were passed. “No driver should have to ask a rider where they are going and why,” a spokesperson said. Yelp co-founder and Chief Executive Jeremy Stoppelman yesterday said the ruling “puts women's health in jeopardy, denies them their human rights, and threatens to dismantle the progress we've made toward gender equality in the workplace since Roe.”