Many have been closely following updates regarding the Supreme Court’s recent debate on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that protected a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion during the first 2 trimesters of pregnancy.
On June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, giving individual states the power to set their own abortion laws. In response to the Court’s decision, several companies — including Disney — have reached out to their employees, promising to cover the cost of travel if the employees must go to a different state to access an abortion.
With the ability to choose to have an abortion no longer considered a constitutional right, “almost half the states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion” (CNBC). Some states will likely keep more liberal legislation regarding abortion. That means that women may need to travel to another state in order to access family planning and reproductive care.
Several companies — such as Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Comcast, Meta, and Sony — have reached out to their employees to confirm they “will cover the travel costs for employees seeking abortions,” according to Variety.
According to Variety, Disney’s message to their employees on Friday said “they recognize the ‘impact’ of the Supreme Court’s decision and ‘remain committed to providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care’ for all Disney employees and their families, which includes family planning and reproductive care, ‘no matter where they live.'”
Disney employees will have a travel benefit that includes “affordable coverage for receiving similar levels of care in another location” if they are not able to get the care they need where they live.
Netflix is offering travel reimbursement coverage “for full-time U.S. employees and their dependents who need to travel for cancer treatment, transplants, gender-affirming care, or abortion.” Comcast, Meta, Paramount, and Sony all have similar plans for employees.
This is a developing story, and we will continue to update as more information is released.
Tink says
Here’s Disney sticking their nose into politics again. Stay out of it, it is impossible to please everyone.
Susan Blackie says
Why can’t Disney take a cue from Universal and stick to entertainment and leave politics alone? I LOVE going to Disney. My car tag is a Disney tag. My house is a Disney house. ALL of my vacations are to Disney (yep a season passholder) . But between their political views and their risings prices even I may have to part ways.
Cc says
Following
Rob says
Good for Disney and all the other companies stepping up to insure the healthcare of their employees that they may need. Glad to see some employers actually care about the health and welfare of their employees. Now if only all other companies did the same.
Gino says
Wonder where my comments are? Too mainstream?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Gino! When messages are not approved it is for a number of reasons including, but not limited to insensitivity, inaccuracy, language, etc. All comments must be linguistically appropriate for a wide audience, and generally not inflammatory. Thanks!
Essie says
Politics ….again. I wish my favorite vacation place would go back to entertaining its guests and leave the politics to the SCOTUS.
Nicole Rustad says
I’m very thankful that Disney and other companies are enabling their employees to be able to access whatever healthcare they need. Employees are the heart of a company and key stakeholders for an organization to be its best. Bravo Disney!