Yelp, a popular platform for business reviews, is attempting to evade approved pro-life laws with its latest move, CBS reported. The company, which already covers abortion care under its insurance plan, announced that it will start paying for U.S. employees to travel out of state for the procedure.
According to the app, those seeking assistance are required to submit receipts of their travel costs to their insurance company, which will then coordinate the reimbursements with Yelp. The new benefit will go into effect next month.
“We’ve long been a strong advocate for equality in the workplace, and believe that gender equality cannot be achieved if women’s healthcare rights are restricted,” Yelp’s Chief Diversity Officer Miriam Warren said in a statement. “As a remote-first company with a distributed workforce, this new benefit allows our U.S. employees and their dependents to have equitable access to reproductive care, regardless of where they live.”
Yelp’s announcement comes as a response to the Texas law, which makes abortions illegal after six weeks of pregnancy. The offer will benefit the 200 employees in the state and will also apply to other workers in states stripping women of their rights to abortions.
One of those states is Oklahoma, where pro-life legislation was passed on Tuesday (April 12). As multiple news sources reported, Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill banning legal abortions except in emergency cases where the life of the mother must be saved.
“We want to choose life in Oklahoma,” he said at a news conference, per ABC. “We do not want to allow abortions in the state of Oklahoma.” The anti-abortion bill will be effective this summer if it isn’t blocked by the court. Violation of the legislation is punishable by a $100,000 fine or a sentence of up to 10 years.
Yelp joins a list of organizations offering travel costs for women seeking abortions. Citigroup, Apple and Levi Strauss & Co. are also offering assistance to women in need.