Friday’s US Supreme Court ruling overturning the 49-year landmark Roe v. Wade, thus ending a woman’s right to abortion, which immediately became illegal in thirteen states (Arkansas, North and South Dakota, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming), has polarized the country, as well as raising a number of questions about the law and corporate policies.
Faced with a highly politicized Supreme Court, thanks to the appointment of three far-right judges by Donald Trump, most technology companies have so far avoided weighing in on the debate on the matter directly, but making clear not only their opposition to the decision, but also that their corporate health policies will protect the rights of female employees who want to undergo an abortion, including the possibility of covering their travel expenses to other states where that procedure is still legal.
Disney, for example, has made it clear in an internal memo that it “will continue to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of our team members and their families,” including having corporate health insurance cover reproductive health expenses if an employee has to travel to another state. Apple says it will support its employees and protect women’s reproductive rights, while Amazon limits its help to a maximum of $4,000. Google notes that employees will be free to leave the affected states and move to others where they consider their rights are protected.
The video game industry environment has reacted even more strongly: the vast majority of studios, distributors, publishers and developers have publicly expressed their unequivocal opposition to the setback that the decision means for women’s rights, with some going so far as to say that they are “not proud to be Americans”. In addition, most companies have seconded the idea of paying for travel and other expenses their employees require as a result of the decision.
Reactions to the Supreme Court decision seem to point to a complex interplay between the law and corporate policies: if you live in one of the states where abortion has ceased to be a woman’s right and has been outlawed, your options depend on the company you work for. If you work for a traditional company, they will be the same as any other woman: either forego an abortion, or personally cover the costs of traveling to receive one in another state where the practice is not illegal. But if you work for a technology company or one that has expressed support for your reproductive rights remaining what they have been for the past forty-nine years, your problems are reduced: your employer, through its corporate health insurance to protect your privacy, will cover all or most of the expenses necessary for you to travel to another state to receive treatment.
In short, the culture war heats up: more polarization, greater inequality, and a part of American society happy because women’s rights are being set back half a century; at the same time, some companies are doing everything possible to continue preserving those rights. Things are definitely not looking good.
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(En español, aquí)
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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