How Yelp And Other Companies Are Helping Employees Access Safe Abortions
If the federal government won't protect women's rights...
Bob Korn / Shutterstock / Yelp / Amazon With the whirlwind of anger and resentment that the leaked Supreme Court draft penned by Justice Alito has received, it’s fair to say that Roe v. Wade is popular among the American public.
Soon, it might fall to individual states to decide the legality of abortion within their borders.
Some companies are already preparing contingencies for their employees in case they need access to an abortion and can’t legally get one in their state.
Yelp and other companies are offering to cover the costs of travel for employees seeking abortions.
The issue of states restricting women’s ability to get abortions has been ongoing since states like Texas and Oklahoma have had success implementing bills that circumnavigate Roe v. Wade’s protection.
RELATED: If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned, Abortion Access Will Not Be The Only Human Right At Risk
States have been able to do everything from creating extremely narrow windows in which women would be allowed to get abortions to implementing ‘vigilante’ laws, permitting private citizens to sue those involved with getting abortions.
Yelp, followed by other companies, including Amazon and Citigroup, have decided that their employees still deserved the right to get abortions if they wished. Each of these companies has or is implementing policies that would cover the travel expenses of employees that have to go out of state to get an abortion.
Yelp has said that this is necessary in order to provide equal access to care for its employees.
Yelp’s Chief Diversity Officer said of the company’s decision, “I think it really comes down to equal access to care. In order to safeguard employees and make sure that they can get the healthcare that they need, no matter what state they live in, we need a benefit like this.”
The number of companies that are taking the initiative to protect their employees’ access to abortion only seems to be growing, even including the monolithic Amazon.
There is a lot of support for Yelp's decision online.
Some social media users have taken to their platforms to applaud the decision made by Yelp and other companies, as well as take aim at the politicians who have made it their mission to restrict women’s bodily autonomy.
RELATED: What It's Like To Have An Abortion One Month After Turning 13
Every day, private companies are brought further and further into politics and they are each being forced to balance the opinions, of the public, politicians, and the all important stakeholder.
Recently, Governor Ron Desantis stripped Disney’s self-governing authority for its opposition to an anti-LGBTQ bill. There are already rumors that states will enact laws to prevent companies like Yelp from financing its employees’ bodily autonomy.
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.