Abortion-related company benefits are deepening the GOP rift with corporate America

A push by major US companies to help employees gain access to reproductive services following the US Supreme Court's ending of federal abortion rights has rankled prominent Republicans and could deepen the GOP's disaffection with corporate America as the party finds itself on the brink of winning back the US House this fall.

In the days since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade, conservatives have hammered companies that have promised to expand existing health care benefits to cover travel expenses for employees who may not be able to legally obtain an abortion in their state. The swift response among lawmakers at the local, state and federal level has ranged from calls for more robust parental leave policies in lieu of abortion-related benefits to legislative proposals targeting corporate executives whose companies pay for abortion care.

The discontent began even before the ruling, after a draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case leaked in May. More than a dozen Republican members of the Texas Legislature vowed in a letter to the ride-hailing company Lyft to introduce bills during the state's next legislative session that would target companies that continue to provide abortion-related benefits while conducting business in the Lone Star State. The letter, which was viewed by CNN, made no mention of companies such as Tesla, whose relocation of its corporate headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin was celebrated by Republicans last year. Tesla recently announced plans to foot the travel costs for employees seeking abortions since Texas law prohibits the procedure after around six weeks of pregnancy.