How PR firms and companies are protecting employees’ abortion access

Companies are quickly communicating their policies after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

by Diana Bradley 27 June 2022

Stock art of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC.
Companies including PR firms reacted quickly to the Supreme Court ruling. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

NEW YORK: PR firms and companies across sectors are speaking out after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The decision, which takes away women’s constitutional protections for abortion, is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Here is how PR firms reacted to Friday’s news…

BerlinRosen

Ditto PR 

Ditto PR’s headquarters is in Texas, and 20% of its employees are based there.  

In a statement to PRWeek, Ditto said it will pay for travel and lodging for family planning needs. 

“Ditto has always offered comprehensive family planning benefits and we will cover travel and lodging expenses for any staffer where these services are not available to ensure the health and safety of our employees,” the agency said.

Imre

SourceCode Communications 

Spool

Bospar

Stagwell

"We are singularly focused on supporting our people through this transition. While we cannot predict how abortion access will evolve in the coming months, or even years, Stagwell believes employees should have access to excellent health care, regardless of their location. We are taking immediate steps that will expand our network travel benefits to give employees access to the nearest approved reproductive healthcare provider in a legally permissible way,” said chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “We hope this travel benefit will provide employees located in states that have implemented new restrictions on reproductive rights with access to care.”

Here’s how other companies have responded to the decision…

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Airbnb said their U.S. healthcare plans cover abortions and that they would continue to cover travel expenses for employees who seek medical treatment outside their home states.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase said it will pay for employees travel to states that allow legal abortion. 

Disney

Disney told staffers on Friday that it's "committed to providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care," including family planning and pregnancy termination.

Google

Google chief people officer Fiona Cicconi told employees they can apply for relocation without justification. She added that company’s benefits in the U.S. cover out-of-state medical procedures that aren't accessible where an employee lives and works. That benefit also covers dependents, reported CNBC.

Meta

Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it intends “to offer travel-expense reimbursements, to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state healthcare and reproductive services.”

Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg said in a Facebook post that the Supreme Court’s ruling "jeopardizes the health and the lives of millions of girls and women" across the U.S. 

Amazon

Amazon.com will pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses for abortion and other non-life-threatening medical procedures. The benefit applies if the medical care is not available within 100 miles of an employee’s home, Reuters reported. For life-threatening medical problems, Amazon offers up to $10,000 in travel reimbursements.

Apple

Apple’s health insurance provider will cover travel and medical costs of employees who want to get an abortion.

Box

Patagonia

Yelp

TikTok

Bumble

Tinder

OkCupid

OkCupid's has created a pro-choice profile badge to match users with like-minded individuals.

Ben & Jerry's 

GoPro

Dick's Sporting Goods


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