Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court surprised many by ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively turning a decades-long contentious issue back to the states to set their own laws and restrictions around abortion care. So far, abortions are banned in 13 states, with many more considering further restrictions of their own in the coming months.
Employers, along with their benefit advisers, have taken notice of this landmark legal decision and must decide to enact policies around whether or not to cover abortions in their employee benefits plans. Even in states where abortions are now illegal, several of the country’s largest and most prominent companies — including Disney, Meta, Netflix and Microsoft — have announced that they will not only cover abortions for their employees, but also will pay the travel and legal expenses for employees going to another state to receive treatment.
