Companies react to the potential overturn of the abortion law

Ahead of the Supreme Court's final opinion on the issue of overturning Roe v Wade verdict which would ban abortions, we look at how employers will be affected by it. Like it or not, losing abortions can have huge repercussions on the workforce thus pulling employers into the mix. 

Companies including Amazon, Yelp, Levi-Strauss, Microsoft, Apple and Citigroup have already confirmed that they will help cover employees' abortion-related travel costs. This list is growing by the minute with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and the Bank of America reportedly considering joining the mix. If Roe v Wade gets overturned, 26 states are expected to ban abortion. 

In terms of changes to the workforce, this means that many women will be completed to have more children than they want and start families sooner than they planned. Women make up half the workforce and the disproportionate distribution of parenting responsibilities already make them more likely to hold part-time jobs. Repealing Roe could exacerbate these circumstances, most women seeking abortions cite economic or employment reasons. Banning abortions would turn major cities where companies are based into abortion desserts. This inadvertently means that employers with a significant presence in cities like Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Connecticut have to make a tough decision on how they will extend their healthcare coverage to help female employees. 

Source: Washington Post