Walmart’s top human resources officer said in an internal memo that the new benefits are effective immediately.
A trigger ban on abortions — except when the pregnant person’s life is in danger — went into effect in Arkansas after the US Supreme Court overturned roe deer, who had established a national right to the proceedings. About 53 percent of Walmart employees in the United States are women. It operates more than 2,000 stores in states that have banned abortion or imposed near-total restrictions on the procedure.
Last year, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) signed the trigger ban into law, though he said earlier this month he supports rape and incest exceptions. There was no immediate response to Walmart’s move by senior GOP leaders in Arkansas, although the move was criticized by some anti-abortion activists.
Other companies that have provided support to workers seeking to terminate a pregnancy include Disney, which employs some 80,000 people in Florida, a state with an almost complete ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Dick’s Sporting Goods has said it will reimburse employees up to $4,000 in travel expenses to the nearest location where abortion is legal. Lyft and JPMorgan, as well as Walmart competitors Target and CVS, have taken similar steps.
Walmart and the Walton family — the descendants of the company’s founder and owners of major retail interests — have a history of supporting conservative causes and politicians. According to the Open Secrets campaign finance watchdog, Walmart donated two to three times more to the GOP than the Democratic Party in many election cycles before 2008.
In recent years, the retail giant and the Walton family have expanded their contributions to include liberal politicians and moderate Republicans. In 2020, Walmart gave similar amounts to Republican and Democratic politicians; that year, the family contributed more to Democratic congressional candidates.
This year’s donations from individual family members to GOP politicians included $17,400 to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who supports abortion rights and recently ran for a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump in a Senate primary. They have also given $250,000 to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican group.
Walmart was one of dozens of companies that stopped donations to lawmakers who voted against the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory after the Capitol uprising of January 6, 2021.
#Walmart #largest #private #employer #expands #abortion #coverage #staff