PR firm to pay moving costs for Texas employees that want to relocate over abortion law

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A new law in Texas that bans abortions as early as six weeks — a point when many women are unaware they are pregnant — has been met with widespread criticism and condemnation for stripping women of their bodily autonomy.

In response, San Francisco-based PR firm Bospar has announced that it will pay up to $10,000 in moving costs for any of its Texas-based employees who wish to leave the state as a result of the anti-choice law. About one-tenth of the company’s workforce is located in Texas.

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“Bospar is willing to pay for a Texas staff member’s relocation out of Texas to ensure they get the healthcare they need, free from the surveillance of others,” says Curtis Sparrer, co-founder of Bospar. “Should other states adopt similarly restrictive abortion bans, we will expand our program.”

One of the provisions in the Texas abortion ban law could cause some massive headaches for some major employers. The law gives an ordinary citizen the right to sue any person who "aids or abets" someone in receiving this kind of medical care, including ride-share drivers who unknowingly drop a woman off at an abortion provider. Lyft and Uber have already announced they intend to pay the legal fees of any driver that is sued.

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But smaller businesses — including a boutique firm like Bospar — don’t have Uber-sized resources to fight a legal battle, and may need to come up with creative ways to support impacted employees.

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“When we heard staff members saying they were looking to leave the state, we wanted to make the process easier for them by removing this biggest hurdle for relocation: money,” Sparrer says. “Bospar will take each employee’s needs into account on a case-by-case basis. So, if someone needs emotional support or time off to handle the logistics, we’ll do it. We know this is a tough process and we just want to make this seamless for everyone involved.”

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