UTA is taking a big step in the fight over women’s reproductive rights in the wake of the news that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and threaten access to abortions. The agency has agreed to reimburse colleagues for any travel expenses related to women’s reproductive health services that are not accessible in their state of residence.
The new benefit came in a memo from UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer to staffers, which TheWrap has obtained. It refers to the growing “threats against women’s reproductive rights.” While it’s unclear, the agency is likely the first to take such a step.
“We’re doing this to support the right to choose that has been a bedrock of settled law for almost half a century,” Zimmer wrote in part in reference to the leaked Supreme Court majority draft opinion, penned by Justice Alito. “UTA has a long history of giving generously through our Foundation to organizations that support women’s reproductive health care, which we will continue to prioritize.”
The memo concludes saying that UTA will also provide other resources for women and encourages employees to reach out to HR for more info about the healthcare benefit.
As Zimmer’s memo alludes to, abortion could become illegal in nearly half the states across the U.S. should the Supreme Court officially strike down Roe v. Wade. Many states have trigger laws that could ban abortions immediately once the Supreme Court overturns the law, while in others it would take effect within 30 days or have other laws on the books from prior to the Roe v. Wade decision that could go back into effect.
On Monday night, a leaked copy of a Supreme Court draft ruling written by Justice Samuel Alito was published by Politico that would end the pivotal abortion decision Roe v. Wade 50 years after it was first established. The ruling is not yet official but was written with the support of a majority of the Supreme Court justices.
Read the full UTA memo from CEO Jeremy Zimmer below:
As threats against women’s reproductive rights grow, we’re introducing an important new benefit. Going forward, UTA will reimburse our colleagues for travel expenses related to receiving women’s reproductive health services that are not accessible in their state of residence. We’re doing this to support the right to choose that has been a bedrock of settled law for almost half a century. Several states have already introduced restrictive legislation, and the draft Supreme Court ruling leaked yesterday, if it comes to pass, could make abortion illegal in more than half of the country. UTA has a long history of giving generously through our Foundation to organizations that support women’s reproductive health care, which we will continue to prioritize. Also, in the coming weeks, the Foundation, DEI and WIG will be providing educational resources, programming, and opportunities for discussion. For more details on this new healthcare benefit, please reach out to HR.
Jeremy Zimmer, UTA CEO