Microsoft joined a growing list of companies that have said they will assist with expenses if employees have to travel for abortions or gender-affirming health care.
The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant said Monday that it will “support employees and their enrolled dependents in accessing critical health care — which already includes services like abortion and gender-affirming care — regardless of where they live across the U.S.
“This support is being extended to include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region,” the company added in its statement.
The move comes a week after Amazon took a similar step, committing to reimburse U.S. employees up to $4,000 annually for travel and lodging for medical treatments, including abortions, that are unavailable within 100 miles of an employee’s home.
Other companies including Yelp, Citigroup and Levi Strauss & Co. are acting in the wake of Politico’s publication last week of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Seattle startup Glowforge took action earlier in April.
The research group Guttmacher Institute has identified states that are likely to ban abortion, in orange below, if Roe v. Wade falls. An interactive version of the map shows the distance women will need to travel for care.
