Big Legal Decisions Have Complicated Consequences

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision that struck down federal abortion rights protections, institutions and employers are working to respond with new policies that will support women in their organizations seeking to terminate their pregnancies. , but live in a state that has banned abortions. Google is one of them.

The Verge obtained a staff-wide email from human resources director Fiona Cicconi who informed employees of the verdict of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and that the company is ready to process relocation requests.

“To support Googlers and their dependents, our U.S. benefits plan and health insurance cover out-of-state medical procedures that are not available where an employee lives and works,” wrote Cicconi. “Googlers can also request a relocation without justification, and those overseeing this process will be aware of the situation.”

Abortion is currently legal in 30 states, though Republican-led state legislatures may propose new limitations or outright bans now that Roe vs. Wade was overthrown.

In a note last August (via Bloomberg), Cicconi said the company approved about 85% of Googlers’ requests to switch to remote work or relocate once its offices began to reopen — after several delays. , the buildings began to reopen in April.

We asked Google for further comment on its human resources policies following the Dobbs decision. The company

Lawmakers have pushed the search giant to provide accurate results when users search for abortion clinics and the abortion pill. Abortion activists note that some findings point to pregnancy health centers in crisis run by anti-abortion organizations.