Apple employees can use their company benefits to travel out-of-state for abortions, the company confirmed on Friday. The benefit has been available to employees for more than a decade, the company said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, formally overturning its rulings in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992).
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday held that “the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” Citizens of each U.S. state will determine abortion laws via their elected representatives who are accountable to voters.
CNBC:
The statement comes as corporations around the country, including Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta are committing to pay for employees to travel to receive abortions if they are in states where it is banned…
“As we’ve said before, we support our employees’ rights to make their own decisions regarding their reproductive health. For more than a decade, Apple’s comprehensive benefits have allowed our employees to travel out-of-state for medical care if it is unavailable in their home state,” an Apple spokesperson told CNBC.
Separately, the decision overturning Roe v. Wade has highlighted health apps and the concern over the data they collect, such as menstrual cycle tracking, which some advocates say could be used to prosecute people who seek abortions in states where it is illegal.
Apple’s Health app does have a cycle tracking feature, and if data is uploaded to Apple’s servers for backup and the user has two-factor authentication on, then it’s encrypted, meaning that Apple cannot read the data.
MacDailyNews Note: The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization opinion can be read in full here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf
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