Disney has become the latest company to announce that it will reimburse the expenses for any of its employees who need to travel in order to get an abortion.
The announcement comes in the wake of yesterday's Supreme Court ruling to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.
As reported by CNN, Justices voted 5-4 in favor of the ruling - a ruling that will have huge consequences on women's reproductive health across the country and a ruling that President Joe Biden says "is literally taking America back 150 years."
Friday's ruling is expected to have huge consequences on women's reproductive health across the US, as it means there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. Each state will now be able to set its own abortion rights independently - unless Congress intervenes.
As a result, many US-based companies have pledged to support any employees who need to travel out of their state in order to have an abortion.
Per The Independent, The Walt Disney Company employs nearly 200,000 people around the world including tens of thousands in Florida - a state where a 15-week abortion ban is due to come into effect on July 1. (Significantly reduced from the current allowance of pregnancy up to 24 weeks.)
Now, in a statement to The Washington Post, Disney officials have stated that the company will reimburse the travel costs of any of its employees unable to safely and legally access abortion services.
"We recognize the impact of the ruling and that we remain committed to providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members, and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, no matter where they live," the statement read.
Per CNN, many other US-based companies are also responding to the outcry from its investors, customers, and employees, and have vowed to support staff who need to travel in order to access abortion care.
These include:
- Microsoft
- Apple
- Starbucks
- Uber
- Meta
- Yelp
- Netflix
- Bumble
- Box.com
- Match Group
- Levi Strauss
- Warner Bros Discovery
- Comcast-NBC Universal
- JPMorgan Chase
- Nike
- Kroger
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Alaska Airlines
- Goldman Sachs
- Zillow
(For more information on each of these companies' policies, please visit CNN Business' report.)
President Joe Biden has also responded to yesterday's SCOTUS ruling, stating that the US Supreme Court is "taking America back 150 years".
"Today, the Supreme Court expressly took away a constitutional right from the American people that it had already recognized," said Biden, who is a longtime vocal supporter of abortion rights. "It didn’t limit it. They simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right so important to so many Americans."
