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Amazon confirmed on Monday (02.05.2021), which will cover the travel costs of its female workers in the United States who need an abortion, as part of its expansion plan of medical coverage, in view of the conservative laws in many states aimed at blocking access to this procedure.
In this way, Amazon joins a list of companies that have already moved in response to legal maneuvers in some states to prevent women from having access to abortion .
In March 2022, the Citigroup said that – in light of “changes in some states in reproductive health laws” – it would provide travel benefits to “facilitate access to resources adequate”.
More than 50 business s, including Internet review service Yelp , clothing manufacturer Patagonia and the transportation application Lyft, signed at the end of 2021 a statement opposing the new Texas law that prohibits abortion after six weeks of gestation. The cloud computing services company Salesforce offered to relocate its Texas employees to offices in other states after before the law entered into force.
Abortion and the Supreme Court of the United States
The The move comes at a time when analysts believe that the Supreme Court -dominated by conservatives after the nomination of three judges by former President Donald Trump- could annul the sentence in the case Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision by 1973 that recognizes access to abortion as a constitutional right of women.
In December 2021, after a hearing of oral arguments on a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks, most Court conservative seemed inclined not only to support the law, but also to dismiss the case Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the Mississippi case in June 2022. The Institute Guttmacher, a research group in favor of the right to choose, assured that there are 26 “safe or probable” states to ban abortion if the case Roe v. Wade is overridden.
Amazon explained that he would reimburse up to 4, dollars per travel and accommodation costs for employees covered with their Health plan if they must travel more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) to receive the treatment they need.
The list of procedures includes gastric bypass, mental health and inpatient substance abuse treatment, according to the company. Amazon also confirmed that it will no longer offer paid time off to its staff who are diagnosed with COVID-19. In case of illness they will have five days off without pay.
ama (afp, reuters)