JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citi, State Street, Capital Group, BNY Mellon and Jeffries are among the financial firms offering to cover travel expenses for employees seeking abortions outside of a state that has restricted the procedure.
The firms’ announcements come following Friday’s Supreme Court decision to overturn the 1973 landmark abortion ruling of Roe v. Wade.
Roe legalized abortion across the country, whereas it had only been legal in several states prior to the ruling.
The ruling in the recent case, Dobbs, State Health Officer Of The
Mississippi Department of Health, et. al. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization et. al., gives individual states the power to set their own abortion laws. Dobbs v. Jackson concerned a Mississippi law that banned nearly all abortions after 15 weeks.
In the aftermath of the Friday’s Supreme Court decision a number of the country’s largest financial firms have said they will cover travel expenses for employees who may now have to travel out of their states of residence to obtain abortions.
Fidelity, however, covers abortions as healthcare procedures but said it does not offer and has no plans to offer travel benefits to associates who need to travel for an abortion. Benefits for distant transportation and lodging are available for a limited set of procedures, such as organ transplants, a spokesperson said.
Part of the court’s majority decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, was revealed in an unprecedented leak in May, telegraphing that Roe was in jeopardy. This prompted some banks and asset managers to act ahead of Friday’s ruling.
BNY Mellon said in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson saying the physical and mental health, and safety and wellbeing of their employees is their top priority.
The firm said it has expanded the travel benefits under their medical plan to cover health services from in-network providers that are not available in the state where they live.
Capital Group said in a statement that its medical plans had ‘long provided coverage for abortions’ and that in January, it expanded its offerings to cover out-of-state travel for the procedure.
Franklin Templeton said the company also expanded benefits for women traveling for abortions prior to the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling if the procedure is ‘unavailable in their home.’
JP Morgan told the New York Times that the bank, the nation’s largest with 170,000 employees, ‘was focused on equal access to health care for all its employees.’
A June 1 memo obtained by Citywire went out to JP Morgan employees stating their travel costs would be covered for trips over 50 miles to receive certain medical procedures including abortions.
JP Morgan did not provide another statement on Friday’s ruling other than to say through a spokesperson that ‘as always, we’re focused on the health and well-being of our employees, and want to ensure equitable access to all benefits.’
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Jeffries, also have announced that they will pay for employees out-of-state travel in order to obtain medical treatments, according to reports.
State Street on Monday told Citywire that ‘in light of the US Supreme Court’s decision, we are working to ensure that all US employees will have access to reproductive healthcare no matter what state they live in.’
Prior to the May leak, Citigroup announced it would offer travel benefits to employees seeking treatment after Texas passed laws restricting abortion access, according to the Wall Street Journal. More than 10,000 full- and part-time Citi employees live in the state.
Almost half of the country’s 50 states have trigger laws outlawing the procedure upon the overturning of Roe or pre-Roe laws prohibiting procedures that could go into effect. Republicans have waged a long-running effort to overturn the Burger court’s decision since it was delivered in 1973, claiming the Constitution contains no mention of the issue and that, therefore, it should be settled politically either in state legislatures or by Congress.
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