Yelp will reimburse employees who need to travel to access abortion services

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If an employee or their dependents need to leave the state to access abortion services, the company will cover the costs of travel, as first reported by The New York Times. The company has 200 employees in Texas, where the strictest abortion law in the country was passed last September.

The law outlaws abortions after six weeks and provides no exception for rape or incest. It allows private citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers and anyone who aided or abetted an abortion. The Texas woman was charged with murder over an abortion, but the charges have been dropped.

The health insurance policy of Yelp supports abortion care, but it also extends coverage. Employees will soon be able to give their health insurance provider proof of their travel to an abortion clinic, according to the NYT. The insurance company will reimburse the employee directly, while keeping their privacy, as the process won't involve Yelp at all. It is an option for anyone at the company who needs to travel for abortion access to use the policy.

We believe that gender equality cannot be achieved if women's healthcare rights are restricted, and that we have long been a strong advocate for equality in the workplace.

Last year, the company doubled employee donations to organizations fighting the abortion law in Texas and other states. The platform worked to make sure reproductive care providers with abortion services weredistinguishable from crisis pregnancy centers that often operate with an anti-abortion agenda.

The abortion law passed in Texas is not the first company to respond to. If employees were concerned about abortion access in their state, they were told by the company that it would help them relocate. The Texas law could lead to lawsuits against drivers if they drive a passenger to an abortion clinic.