Amazon employees in the USA are not allowed to set up works councils. And they shouldn’t get sick with Covid either, because the company has just canceled the paid sick days. But they get a new employee benefit with immediate effect: abortions at the company’s expense.
The online retailer wants to reimburse its employees in the US for travel expenses if they cannot have their abortion performed within a 100-mile radius of their home. Company health insurance reimburses up to $4,000 for travel and lodging. The change is apparently a response to the threat of restrictions on access to abortions in many US states.
The US Supreme Court is scheduled to rule by the end of June on a case relating to the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. After a judge’s pre-arranged opinion, it looks like the Supreme Court will overturn that right. The majority of Americans support abortion rights, but conservative politicians could still prevail.
If Roe vs. Wade no longer applies, rules about access to abortion fall under state law. 26 of them are currently planning to largely ban abortions if they get the right to do so. Women who live in one of these states and want to terminate a pregnancy would then have to travel to an abortion-friendly state. This costs time and money – both something that poor women in particular do not have.
That’s why US companies want to jump to the side of their employees – which is worthwhile because most women who want an abortion don’t let abortion bans stop them and then often switch to illegal and more dangerous methods and providers if they can’t afford the travel expenses can raise. Then they may fall ill, which is not in the interest of the employer – just like unwanted children. In addition, there is currently a large wave of layoffs in the USA and many employers are considering so-called benefits in order to retain employees and attract new ones – abortion at company expense is just one of them.
Republican Rubio calls US corporations “an instrument of anti-American ideologies”
Amazon isn’t the first company to cover travel expenses for abortions. The bank Citigroup announced a corresponding new rule in March. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in September that the company’s health insurance would pay for employees in Texas affected by the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions after six weeks. IT companies HP Enterprise and Salesforce, review site Yelp, dating site Match, which owns Tinder, and clothing company Levi’s also have similar rules. Ride-along service providers Uber and Lyft have agreed to provide rides for customers who want to go out of state to have an abortion, and have agreed to pay legal fees for drivers convicted of transporting a customer to an out-of-state abortion clinic.
These Supreme Court protesters are pro-abortion rights.
(Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP)
There is already resistance to employer support for abortion. Texas Congressman Briscoe Cain wants to ban cities and towns from doing business with Citigroup. And Republican politician Marco Rubio of Florida wants to introduce legislation that would ban companies from tax deducting the cost of abortion assistance. “Our tax law should be family-friendly and promote a culture of living,” Rubio said. “Instead, too often, our corporations find loopholes to subsidize the murder of unborn babies or horrific ‘medical’ treatments given to children. My bill would ensure that that doesn’t happen.” Rubio was once America’s corporate world’s favorite candidate and a big fundraiser. However, the old love has cooled down. Last named Rubio Corporate America “an instrument of anti-American ideologies”.
The policies surrounding abortions by the companies themselves are not without contradictions either. According to the left-wing news website, 13 American companies including Amazon, Citi, Walmart, Google and Coca-Cola have popular information combined $15.2 million to political committees like that National Republican Senator Committee donated to those who are against abortion. To make friends on all sides of the political spectrum, most US companies donate to both Democratic and Republican politicians and initiatives.