Businesses that help employees get abortions could be next target of Texas lawmakers if Roe v. Wade is overturned

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With Texas poised to mechanically ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Courtroom overturns Roe v. Wade, some Republicans are already setting their sights on the following goal to struggle the process: companies that say they’ll assist workers get abortions outdoors the state.

Fourteen Republican members of the state Home of Representatives have pledged to introduce payments within the coming legislative session that may bar companies from doing enterprise in Texas in the event that they pay for abortions in states the place the process is authorized.

This may explicitly forestall corporations from providing workers entry to abortion-related care by way of medical health insurance advantages. It might additionally expose executives to prison prosecution underneath pre-Roe anti-abortion legal guidelines the Legislature by no means repealed, the legislators say.

Their proposal highlights how the tip of abortion would result in a brand new part in — not the tip of — the struggle in Texas over the process. The lawmakers pushing for the enterprise guidelines have signaled that they plan to behave aggressively within the subsequent legislative session. Nevertheless it stays to be seen in the event that they’ll have the ability to get a majority on their facet.

The members, led by Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, laid out their plans in a letter to Lyft CEO Logan Inexperienced that turned public on Wednesday.

Inexperienced drew the lawmakers’ consideration on April 29, when he said on Twitter that the ride-share firm would assist pregnant residents of Oklahoma and Texas search abortion care in different states. Inexperienced additionally pledged to cowl the authorized prices of any Lyft driver sued underneath Senate Invoice 8, the Texas legislation that empowers personal residents to file lawsuits towards anybody who assists within the procurement of an abortion.

“The state of Texas will take swift and decisive motion if you don’t instantly rescind your just lately introduced coverage to pay for the journey bills of ladies who abort their unborn youngsters,” the letter states.

The letter additionally lays out different legislative priorities, together with permitting Texas shareholders of publicly traded firms to sue executives for paying for abortion care, in addition to empowering district attorneys to prosecute abortion-related crimes outdoors of their house counties.

Six of the 14 signers, together with Cain, are members of the far-right Texas Freedom Caucus. How a lot political help these proposals have within the Republican caucus is unclear. Home Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, declined to remark. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t reply.

Because the legislative session is greater than seven months away, Cain mentioned in an e-mail that “a shortly drafted and despatched letter can hardly be mentioned to replicate the heart beat of my Republican colleagues.” He was assured, nonetheless, that his concepts would discover some help within the Senate.

“Realizing that chamber and its management, I’m keen to wager laws focusing on this concern shall be promptly filed in January,” Cain mentioned.

However doing so would probably imply focusing on firms that the state has wooed as potential job creators. Tesla, as an illustration, introduced this month that it will pay for workers’ journey prices after they depart the state to get an abortion. Abbott celebrated the electrical automobile firm’s transfer to Austin final yr and this yr urged its CEO, Elon Musk, to move Twitter’s headquarters to Texas, too, if he completes his buy of the social media agency.

Republican politicians need to tread rather more fastidiously on abortion politics if Roe v. Wade falls, mentioned Florida State College professor Mary Ziegler, who wrote a ebook on abortion legislation in the USA. Whereas prior to now, lawmakers might move any variety of abortion restrictions that have been certain to be struck down by courts, that backstop would now not exist.

Ziegler mentioned whereas a broad conservative coalition needs to ban abortions in Texas, there’s disagreement over how aggressively to implement associated prison legal guidelines or to try to stop pregnant residents from leaving the state for the process. Republican politicians, due to this fact, have an incentive to stay quiet on the problem till they will decide which plan of action is essentially the most politically prudent.

“It’s not simple to be a Republican anymore,” Ziegler mentioned. “Earlier than, everybody was like, ‘Sure, let’s do away with Roe v. Wade.’ Now, if you are able to do no matter you need, what’s it that you just need to do?”

Lyft didn’t reply to a request for remark. A number of different giant firms, together with Amazon, Uber and Starbucks, have additionally mentioned they might assist workers or prospects search abortion care outdoors of Texas. None responded to requests for remark.

Considerations from the enterprise neighborhood helped derail a push by Republican lawmakers to enact the so-called toilet invoice within the 2017 session, which might have required individuals to make use of the amenities that corresponded with their intercourse assigned at or close to delivery. Reasonable Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, rebuffed requests from Patrick to make the invoice a precedence.

State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, mentioned that though Straus has since retired, she hoped a coalition of Democrats and centrist Republicans would kind to dam abortion-related legal guidelines that place new restrictions on companies.

“There have been alternatives for business-minded Republicans and business-minded Democrats to return collectively and forestall these sorts of maximum insurance policies,” Howard mentioned of Straus’ tenure. “I’m hopeful that can occur once more. … We’re at a pivotal level right here of doing extreme injury that’s going to be onerous to undo.

The Texas Affiliation of Companies, Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives and Larger Houston Partnership both declined to remark or didn’t reply to questions concerning the abortion-restriction proposals within the Republicans’ letter.

Disclosure: The Larger Houston Partnership, Lyft and the Texas Affiliation of Enterprise have been monetary supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no function within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full record of them right here.

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