Amazon Airbnb, Tesla, and Other Companies React to Legal Backtracking of Abortion in the US

Few of the major corporations were strong in their condemnation of the Supreme Court’s decision.

Some companies have pledged to ensure that their employees, wherever they work, have access to an abortion by reimbursing them for travel expenses to a country where the medical procedure is legal.

Some companies, such as Yelp and Airbnb, actually took the step in September after a law in Texas went into effect banning all abortions from the moment a fetus’s heartbeat appears on ultrasound.

Little by little, others like Citigroup, Tesla or Amazon are changing the health coverage offered to their employees.

Another wave, including Starbucks, Levi Strauss and JPMorgan Chase, did so after a newspaper leak in early May announced the Supreme Court’s potential backtracking on the abortion issue.

Some joined them on Friday, like Disney, which sent a note to its employees saying the company is committed to providing access to quality care “no matter where you live,” according to CNBC.

The other face

Many companies remained silent. This does not mean that they do not offer the same benefits in their health insurance.

But public speaking is a double-edged sword, says Maurice Schweitzer, a professor at The Wharton University in Pennsylvania.

“On the one hand, they want to participate, and be role models, because it’s important to their employees, especially in the tech sector,” he says.

Regarding immigration, LBGTQ rights, guns, racism…several senior presidents decided to speak out.

But when it comes to abortion, the legal landscape will change, Schweitzer says.

Lyft, for example, agreed to pay the legal costs of drivers being sued for transporting a woman to another state for an abortion.

There may also be legal consequences for companies to change your health coverage.

Chiefs are also taking into account Disney’s recent setback in Florida.

She had initially decided not to stand against a law prohibiting the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools.

At the urging of staff, President Bob Chapek eventually became a vocal critic of the law, angering conservative Governor Ron DeSantis and removing the favorable administrative status that Disney World had enjoyed in the state for years. 1960s.

Ultimately, according to Schweizer, the case “frustrated employees, who blamed the company for not speaking up sooner” and “cost money for the politicians’ reaction.”