Investment bank Citigroup will pay travel expenses for employees seeking abortions.
Citigroup wrote in a financial filing for its shareholders’ meeting next month that “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.”
The statement appeared in a section entitled “Compensation and Human Capital Management Highlights” — one paragraph below an affirmation that Citigroup believes “all parents deserve time to adjust to parenthood and bond with the newest member of their family.”
A person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that the policy will cover expenses — such as airfare and lodging — that may be incurred for employees in places like Texas who may have to travel for an abortion. Bloomberg also pointed out that other large corporations — including Match, Bumble, Lyft, and Uber — are devoting resources to oppose the Texas Heartbeat Act, which attempts to ban abortion at about six weeks gestation.
As the Supreme Court considers arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — which pertains to a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks gestation — Texas approved a law last summer that would end abortion in Texas if the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade. The legislation recognizes that Texas never reversed statutes “that prohibit and criminalize abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger” following the 1973 case.
State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-TX), however, notes that the bill does not save any babies from abortion.
“The truth is, the likelihood of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade is slim to none, which means the trigger bill will not actually save any human lives,” he told The Daily Wire. “In order to end the outright murder of innocent children, States must be willing to stand up and ban it with or without the Court’s permission.”
Slaton filed the “Abolition of Abortion through Equal Protection for All Unborn Children Act” on July 8 to invoke Texan state sovereignty and immediately end abortion. He told The Daily Wire last year that he was “saddened” by lack of support for his legislation.
Citing the Texas Constitution — which declares that “Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States” — Slaton’s bill affirms that “the sanctity of innocent human life created in the image of God, which should be equally protected from fertilization to natural death.” The legislation would thus “ensure the right to life and equal protection of the laws to all unborn children from the moment of fertilization” and “rescind all licenses to kill unborn children.”
Jon Speed — a pastor who serves as Texas representative for the ministry End Abortion Now — argued that the law to end abortion only if Roe v. Wade is overturned is “toothless.” He claimed that the governor “never lifted a finger” to support bills from the previous legislative session that would have immediately abolished abortion.
“The current heartbeat bill and other typically pro-life efforts in Texas are being met with a collective yawn by the pro-choice industry,” he told The Daily Wire.