Should companies be in charge of abortion access?

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Jul 01, 2022 View in browser   By Katelyn Fossett POLITICO illustration/iStock Good morning, rulers! I hope you have a great Fourth of July planned. Thanks to Maya Parthasarathy for helping to put this newsletter together. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade last week, a number of companies stepped up to announce a new policy: They would cover the cost of employees traveling to obtain an abortion, if the state an employee lives in prohibits the procedure. Those companies included Dick's Sporting Goods, Condé Nast, the Walt Disney Company, Meta and others; this group joined a smaller group of companies that had come out with this policy shortly after POLITICO published a draft opinion of the ruling in May. Many supporters of abortion rights applauded the decision. But the announcements soon ran into opposition — on both the right and the left — that highlights the complexity of who decides who gets abortion access in a post-Roe world. The criticism also shows how skepticism of corporate power animates political arguments on either end of this hot-button culture war. There was, at the most basic level, the conservative argument that these policies are a "means of undermining pro-life policy," as Alexandra DeSanctis writes at the National Review. But then there was the argument on the right that companies were offering these benefits because it was ultimately better for the bottom line. "It's obvious why [abortion] is so important to America's corporations, almost all of whom immediately weighed in to say, 'We'll fly you to get an abortion in the state of your choice,'"Tucker Carlson said on his Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight. "Why? Well, of course, employees without families are loyal to the company, and of course it's much cheaper to pay for an abortion than it is to pay for maternity leave or an extra name on the insurance policy." He continued: "Families are bad for big corporations, therefore they're against families." In May, anti-abortion scholarErika Bachiochi expressed a similar thought to reporter Eleanor Mueller in this newsletter . "It's not at all surprising that corporations are offering to pay for their employees' abortions — a far cheaper option than accommodations for parenting," Bachiochi told Mueller. It's an argument that combines a traditionally liberal argument — that corporations only serve their bottom line and thus cannot be a benign social force, hence the need for unions, other worker protections and corporate regulations — with a traditionally conservative anti-abortion argument.   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: As inflation rates soar and disruptions to the global supply chain persist, all eyes are on the nation's economic recovery. But getting back on track in an inclusive and sustainable way is no easy feat. POLITICO Focus connected with members of Women Rule: The Exchange to learn about the strategies and solutions that will power an economy that benefits all. Join the Conversation.   A tweet from Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance this week also echoed this argument. "If your worldview tells you that it's bad for women to become mothers but liberating for them to work 90 hours a week in a cubicle at the New York Times or Goldman Sachs, you've been had,"Vance tweeted . As many noted in his replies, it's not the 90-hour-a-week job that's liberating to gender-equality and abortion rights advocates; it's the freedom to make either choice or choose the infinite options beyond the two choices he selected in the tweet. (Others also pointed out that Vance's wife is an associate at a law firm and the mother of three children.) In a similar way to Carlson and Bachiochi's argument, though, Vance sets up a binary: You have a choice to participate in the unrealistic demands of modern work culture or become a parent — and it's our culture that makes you choose. And, according to these arguments, abortion rights are both a cause and a symptom of that culture. It shouldn't be surprising that more liberal writers had their own critique of employers that sponsored abortion travel. New York Times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom called attention to Starbucks, which pledged to support employees' access to abortion travel, but added that it couldn't guarantee that benefit to workers in unionized stores. "Potentially attaching support for abortion care to nonunionized labor is a perfect example of why corporations should not be arbiters of human rights,"she wrote. "The majority opinion in Dobbs argues that it is merely making the right to an abortion a state's decision," McMillan Cottom continued. "In reality, the justices are making it a corporation's privilege." Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawialso wondered if corporations could use these benefits as another form of leverage to be used against employees. "Last year, a number of Kellogg's workers went on strike to protest against unfair working conditions. One of the first things management did was cut off their healthcare," she pointed out. To be sure, many liberals were also supportive of the companies' efforts to give employees' access to abortion as a response to the Roe v. Wade ruling. But others, such as the writers above, pointed out how these corporations' efforts fell short of government protections and could in fact be a way of further increasing economic inequality between women and men in a post-Roe era, by leaving one specific aspect of healthcare — that only women and others who can get pregnant need — subject to the whims of employers. As a result, the benefit would be another carrot to wield in negotiations and another stick to wield in labor disputes, ensuring that the conditions of employment would remain unequal between women and men. These employer policies suggest that post-Roe, one's access to abortion could depend not only on what state you live in but what company you work for — and it seems that neither end of the political spectrum is fully comfortable with that. POLITICO Special Report Andrew Harnik/AP Photo "The fallout at the workplace from the ruling on Roe," by Victoria Guida for POLITICO: "The demise of Roe v. Wade is raising alarms among abortion rights advocates that historic gains for lower-income women in the workplace will be in jeopardy. "Some economists — including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen — argue that access to abortion opened up opportunities for many of the most financially vulnerable women to enter the labor force and earn higher wages. They fear that new limits on the practice will not only hurt those people but the overall economy as well at a time when inflation is raging and low workforce participation looms as an obstacle to the recovery. "'It's clear that women have already been facing barriers to full participation in the economy,' said Kate Bahn, chief economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a progressive think tank. 'Overturning Roe imposes more barriers.' "While the likely impact of the ruling on the labor force isn't clear-cut — some conservative economists say it could be minor — a wave of academic studies in recent decades suggest that the option to terminate a pregnancy increases economic freedom, especially for women of color."   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: In the Round: A conversation with today's leaders.   "Biden says he supports a filibuster carveout to restore abortion rights," by Kelly Hooper for POLITICO: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would support an exception to the Senate filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade and federally protect access to abortion. "'I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law and the way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that, and if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be "we provide an exception for this" — require an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision,' Biden said during a press conference at the NATO summit. … "The president has previously been opposed to getting rid of the filibuster — which establishes a 60-vote threshold to move most bills through the Senate — but said Thursday he would do 'everything in my power' to protect the right to choose. "The president added he'd be in favor of changing filibuster rules to not only guarantee abortion rights but also a constitutional right to privacy — which he said the Supreme Court 'wiped' out with its decision on Roe . He said codifying privacy rights would protect access to abortion as well as a 'whole range of issues,' including marriage equality." "State lawmakers are shaping the future of abortion. Watch these names," by Megan Messerly for POLITICO "How the Jan. 6 panel's star witness drew a roadmap for Trump's culpability," by Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu for POLITICO: "The Jan. 6 select committee made a big bet on Cassidy Hutchinson. She delivered on Tuesday — and then some. "With what may prove the most damning testimony about a sitting president's actions in American history, the former right hand of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows stitched together every element of the panel's case against Donald Trump. The Capitol riot committee has painted the former president's potential criminal culpability for his effort to overturn the election in stark hues: investigators have portrayed Trump fuming atop an increasingly conspiracy-addled West Wing and working to corrupt the peaceful transfer of power at any cost. "Yet it was their sixth hearing that most clearly cast Trump as a uniquely pernicious force, thanks to a soft-spoken but bell-clear witness. "'I was disgusted,' Hutchinson said of Trump's behavior on Jan. 6, particularly after he tweeted an attack on Mike Pence as the then-vice president was fleeing rioters who'd called for his execution. 'It was unpatriotic. It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.'" Number of the Week Read more here. MUST READS Lois Frankel, who introduced the Speak Out Act. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images "'They want you to feel alone': New bill aims to ban NDAs for victims of workplace harassment," by Mariel Padilla for the 19th: "House lawmakers on Wednesday introduced the Speak Out Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to stop employers from forcing workers to remain silent about current and future instances of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace — as a requirement for employment. A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate by Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gilibrand and Mazie Hirono, and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Marsha Blackburn. "Nondisclosure agreements in the workplace keep harassment victims from talking publicly about their abuse. More than one-third of the U.S. workforce is bound by NDAs, according to a 2018 Harvard Business Review article, and they are rarely highlighted in a torrent of new employment paperwork. This quiet prevalence can lead people to unknowingly sign over their rights to talk about any harm done to them in the workplace or even when they accept terms and conditions after downloading a new app on their phones. One law professor described them as tools used to purchase victims' silence."   The Women Rule series brings together rising stars, accomplished professionals, and women at the pinnacle of their careers to inform, empower and connect women across diverse sectors and career levels. Attendance to our quarterly in-person POLITICO Women Rule meetings, is by invitation-only. Join our interest list and learn more here.     "Kelsie at the bat," by Chelsea Janes for the Washington Post: "Kelsie Whitmore always wanted to play in the major leagues. She did not always want to admit it. "'Are you sure?' people would respond, after they asked what she wanted to do. "Even at an early age, she knew what they really meant: 'You know you can't do that, right?' "They would, and still do, tell her how hard she would have to work, as if a girl who played baseball with the boys from the moment she started Little League didn't know that already. She knew they thought she probably couldn't do it. In fairness, they had never seen anyone try. "Whitmore was never afraid that that skepticism would make her question whether she belonged. As the first woman to start a game in the Atlantic League, an independent circuit, she had never exactly blended in. But she has stood in the same outfield as former major leaguers, tracking and catching the same flyballs. She has taken leads against former major league pitchers, inching toward second base, watching for the same tells as the guys, scoring on base hits just as they do. She has faced elite pitching and velocity, struck out, adjusted and done better next time." "The Conservative Women Radicalizing Amish Literature," by Kelsey Osgood for the Atlantic Transitions Bola Olaniyan will be the new executive director of the Sadie Collective, which aims to bring together Black women who work in the quantitative sciences. Bola previously served as the Washington, D.C. site director for Arizona State University. …   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: As inflation rates soar and disruptions to the global supply chain persist, all eyes are on the nation's economic recovery. But getting back on track in an inclusive and sustainable way is no easy feat. Today, women are still finding themselves disproportionately affected by pervasive inequities when it comes to leadership, wages, and skills-building. Bridging these profound gender 'gaps' will be paramount to the country's ability to achieve sustained growth for the future. But where do we start? POLITICO Focus sat down with members of Women Rule: The Exchange to answer this very question. Click here to see what leaders had to say about the strategies and solutions that will power an economy that benefits all.   Rebecca Sinderbrand is joining Georgetown University as professor of the practice and director of the journalism program. She currently is senior Washington editor at NBC News. … Meaghan Lynch will be public policy manager at Airbnb. Currently, she is press secretary for HUD, and is a Kamala Harris alum. (h/t Playbook) … Dawn-Marie Sullivan is now legislative director for Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.). She most recently was on Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) policy team. … Emily Cummings is now senior manager for comms on KKR's public affairs team. She most recently was senior associate at Teneo. (h/t Playbook)   Follow us on Twitter Katelyn Fossett @KatelynFossett   Follow us

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