How Seattle-area tech companies are responding to abortion ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, in turn ending federal protections for abortions, and local reactions have been swift.

On Friday afternoon, thousands of protestors took to the streets in downtown Seattle to protest the ruling. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, meanwhile, slammed the ruling and said Washington State Patrol will not help other states' agencies in prosecuting people who travel to Washington for an abortion. Washington, California and Oregon have teamed up to protect medical professionals in those states who perform abortions.

The Business Journal reached out to Seattle-area tech companies to find out what policies or statements they have put out in response to the ruling:

Qualtrics

Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin took to LinkedIn to discuss the news, writing that his "heart is with everyone who is hurting as a result of today’s news." Serafin said the company has increased its health benefits to include up to $4,000 annually for services not available within 100 miles of home for U.S. employees, spouses, partners and dependents.

F5

"Our U.S. medical plan covers a broad range of reproductive health services and gender reassignment services," said Ana White, executive vice president and chief people officer at F5, in an emailed statement. "As an added measure, we will assist US employees with travel-related expenses to access these covered medical procedures that may be unavailable in their state of residence."

White added that F5 is doubling the amount U.S. employees can get for adoption assistance.

Expedia

"We have a U.S. medical benefits policy in place to cover travel costs if employees are seeking health care that is not provided in their state," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

OfferUp

"At OfferUp we are committed to ensuring all of our employees have access to the care they need," OfferUp CEO Todd Dunlap said in an emailed statement. He added that the company has employees across the U.S., and OfferUp will provide $2,500 for employees to travel for necessary reproductive health care.

Remitly

"We have been actively monitoring this evolving situation and are evaluating our benefits to ensure our employees have support in accessing safe health care benefits," a Remitly spokesperson said in an emailed statement.