The CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods announced on Friday that in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, DICK’S would cover the travel costs of employees seeking abortions.
Lauren Hobart, president, and CEO of DICK’S, announced that the company would reimburse employees up to $4,000 for travel expenses associated with obtaining an abortion.
“In response to today’s ruling, we are announcing that if a state one of our teammates lives in restricts access to abortion, DICK’S Sporting Goods will provide up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement to travel to the nearest location where that care is legally available. This benefit will be provided to any teammate, spouse or dependent enrolled in our medical plan, along with one support person,” Hobart wrote in part.
Writing for the majority, Justice Alito made it clear that abortion’s legality was now an issue for the state’s, not the federal government:
Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return the authority to the people and their elected representatives.
“Roe was handed down in 1973 in a 7-2 decision, holding that the U.S. Constitution includes a constitutional right to abortion, despite the fact that abortion is not found in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution, and the nation went more than 180 years without ever noticing it existed,” Breitbart’s Ken Klukowski wrote. “It has been one of the most divisive legal issues in American history.”
DICK’S joins other businesses, such as Tesla and Disney, in offering to cover travel fees for employees seeking abortions.