With the the Supreme Court having overturned the constitutional right to abortion in a 6-3 decision, the reverberations of the controversial decision are just beginning to seep into every industry.
The repeal of Roe v. Wade would give states individual power to ban or severely restrict abortion, which analysts expect to happen in roughly half of all states.
Businesses are feeling pressure to speak out as both employees and customers condemn the ruling as backwards and a major step back for women's health and rights.
Many Businesses Committed To Covering Travel Costs Back In May
JP Morgan Chase (JPM) sent out a company-wide memo saying that it will cover travel costs for employees who have to go to another state to get an abortion.
The commitment came in advance of the decision after a leaked draft opinion in May suggested that today's ruling was highly likely.
"Our health care plans have historically covered travel benefits for certain covered services that would require travel," reads the question and answer section of a memo explaining the company's expanded medical benefits. "Beginning in July, we will expand this benefit to include all covered services that can only be obtained far from your home, which would include legal abortion."
The investment bank has over 260,000 employees both in the United States and abroad.
Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA) and Starbucks (SBUX) are some of the companies that committed to covering abortion-related travel expenses back in May.
Minutes after the June 24 decision, the Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) also announced that it would also cover travel expenses for employees who need to leave their state to get an abortion legally.
The company has previously faced pressure to take a more vocal stance over a Florida law restricting sexual education in schools. When they did, conservative Governor Ron DeSantis retaliated by pushing forth a bill that strips the entertainment company of its ability to operate as an independent government.
Who's Speaking Out Now?
Puck News Founder Matthew Belloni reported that entertainment companies including Netflix (NFLX), Comcast (CMCSA), Warner Brothers and Discovery (WBD), Sony (SNE), and Paramount (PARA) were all preparing to make similar changes to their employee benefits plan.
An hour after the Supreme Court decision, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch sent a company-wide email committing to expanded reproductive care benefits.
"The most powerful way for us to respond to what’s happening right now is through our brands and the distinctive editorial lenses with which they’re covering today’s news and the effect it will have on society," Lynch wrote to staffers.
Condé Nast is the parent company of editorial brands like Vogue, Architectural Digest, The New Yorker, and GQ.
Sheryl Sandberg, the Meta (MVRS) chief operating officer who recently announced that she would be stepping down from the company, wrote a post condemning the ruling.
"I never thought my mom’s past would become my daughters’ futures," Sandberg wrote in a lengthy post about how women would get underground abortions prior to the passage of Roe v. Wade. "I cannot believe that I'm going to send my three daughters to college with fewer rights than I had."
Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian also wrote a Twitter thread encouraging people to vote and saying that it "looks likely that same-sex marriage will be next."
This article is about a breaking story and will be updated to include more names as news develops.
