Tesla Joins Other Major Companies Offering to Pay for Employees to Travel to Get Abortions
Tesla is the latest company to announce that it will pay travel costs for its employees seeking an out-of-state abortion.
The benefit, which was implemented in 2021, was disclosed in the company's impact report for last year and was made public on Friday.
According to the report, the electric car maker "expanded its Safety Net program and health insurance offerings last year to include travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state."
Tesla relocated its corporate headquarters last year from California to Texas, which bans abortions after the unborn baby's heartbeat can be detected, roughly six weeks into a pregnancy.
Pro-choice groups have fought in court to overturn the Texas law, but they have not succeeded. States, such as California, have announced they plan to become abortion hotspots for women living in other parts of the country.
The Texas Heartbeat Act has faced legal challenges and resistance from the abortion industry and has come out victorious in numerous court rulings.
Tesla's abortion news comes after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicated that the court may be preparing to strike down the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that invented a constitutional right to abortion in America.
Overturning Roe would simply leave the issue up to each individual state, so numerous left-leaning states have already taken big steps to enshrine and expand abortion access. On the other side, right-leaning states have moved to protect unborn persons from abortion.
CBN News previously reported that Citigroup is also funding abortion trips for its employees.
"In response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources," Citigroup said in a letter to shareholders in March.
According to Fox Business, Yelp and Apple have broadened their health-insurance policies to include extra abortion services.
CBN's Faithwire reported last week that Amazon.com, the second-largest private employer in the country, will pay its U.S. employees up to $4,000 in travel expenses for non-life-threatening treatments and procedures, including abortions.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in September that he believes the "government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximize their cumulative happiness. That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics."
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