Amazon confirmed on Monday that it is expanding medical coverage for US workers to include travel costs for abortions, as Conservative-led laws seek to block access in many states.
The retail giant joins a list of companies that have taken action in reaction to moves by states to block women’s access to abortion.
Citigroup said in a filing with regulators in March that, in light of “changes in reproductive health laws in certain states,” it will provide travel benefits to “facilitate access to appropriate resources.”
More than 50 US companies, including online review service Yelp, clothing maker Patagonia and ride-hailing app Lyft, signed a statement late last year against a new Texas law banning abortion after the six weeks of pregnancy.
Cloud computing giant Salesforce offered to move employees from its Texas facilities to other states after the law went into effect there.
The moves come as legal analysts believe the Supreme Court, dominated by conservatives following former President Donald Trump’s nomination of three justices, appears poised to possibly overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that held that access to abortion is a woman’s constitutional right. straight.
In December, hearing oral arguments on a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks, the court’s conservative majority seemed inclined not only to uphold the law but also to throw out Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in the Mississippi case in June.
The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, has said that 26 states are “certain or likely” to ban abortion if Roe is struck down.
Amazon said it would reimburse up to $4,000 in travel and lodging expenses for employees covered by its health care plan if they have to travel more than 100 miles to get the treatment they need.
The list of covered procedures also included gastric bypass, mental health care and inpatient treatment for substance use disorders, according to Amazon.
The coverage extends a travel cost benefit for emergency medical treatment.
Amazon also confirmed that it will no longer offer paid time off in the US for workers diagnosed with Covid-19, instead allowing them to take five days off without pay or take advantage of paid sick or vacation time on the books.