Health

BP, Shell To Cover Employee Travel for Treatment After Roe v. Wade

Neither of the two European companies explicitly named abortion in their statements. They were the first oil producers to update their health care plans to extend benefits for women, while US oil majors remained silent on the issue.

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Source: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Oil producer BP on Wednesday joined Shell in pledging to cover travel expenses for US employee health care treatment following a Supreme Court decision overturning the Constitutional right to an abortion.

Neither of the two European companies explicitly named abortion in their statements. They were the first oil producers to update their health care plans to extend benefits for women, while US oil majors remained silent on the issue.

Amazon, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Tesla, and Walt Disney this week said they were updating or changing their health insurance policies to pay US employees' travel costs for out-of-state abortion services.

BP will "assist with travel expenses for covered health care services that cannot be obtained near where an employee lives," the company said in response to questions over the Supreme Court opinion overruling the Roe v. Wade decision.

The ruling ended federal protections and left each state to decide if it will permit the procedure.

Texas, home to thousands of oil and gas workers, is among 26 states planning to severely restrict or almost completely ban abortions. Women in those states who want to terminate an unwanted pregnancy will need to travel to states where the procedure is legal.

Shell said it was updating its "national health care options to ensure access to a broad range of medical services, including those that require travel."

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