Roe v. Wade may well
be overturned, according to the US Supreme Court’s draft opinion that was
leaked to the media. In such an event, several Republican-led states will see
their trigger anti-abortion laws come into effect, as a consequence of which
abortion will become illegal in large parts of the United States.

At least 31 states
are expected to outlaw abortion once Roe v. Wade goes, according to a Reuters
report.

Also Read | Why Louisiana Republicans seek to call abortion murder

With abortion
rights of American
women at risk, many US companies are coming forward to roll
out policies to cover travel costs of their employees who wish to travel to
other states to get their abortion procedures done.

Also Read | If Roe v. Wade falls: First they came for abortion, then…

Yelp, the company
that publishes crowd-sourced reviews on businesses, was the first to announce
such a policy. The company has decided to financially support employees who
might need to travel out of state for access to abortion. The decision was
taken to ensure all Yelp employees have equal access to healthcare.

Also Read | Why overturning Roe v. Wade will take a financial toll on women

“I think it really
comes down to equal access to care. In order to safeguard employees and make
sure they can get the healthcare they need, no matter what state they live in,
we need a benefit like this,” said Miram Warren, chief diversity at Yelp,
speaking to Reuters.

Amazon, the global
e-commerce giant, said Monday that it will pay employees up to $4,000 each year
in travel expenses to access non-life-threatening medical treatments, including
abortions, Reuters reported.

Also Read | Who were Roe and Wade?

Citigroup, an
American multinational investment and financial services company, announced in
an April filing to the SEC that in response to changes in “reproductive healthcare
laws in certain states in the US, beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits
to access equal resources.”

Companies started
coming up with these policies as several Republican-controlled states, led by
Texas, sought to ban abortion. What stands between a ban on abortion in certain
states in the landmark 1973 judgement called Roe v. Wade which grants federal
protections to reproductive rights of women. If the draft opinion of the US
Supreme Court becomes a reality, Roe v. Wade will be effectively overturned.