Microsoft will help employees cover travel costs to access abortion and gender-affirming services

• Microsoft said it will now cover travel expenses for employees seeking abortion and gender-affirmation services.
• A leaked draft opinion shows the Supreme Court could be poised to revoke abortion rights.

Microsoft joined the growing number of companies committing to help staff travel to access abortion and gender-affirmation healthcare.

Microsoft said in a statement to Insider that it will "support employees and their enrolled dependents in accessing critical health care — which already includes services like abortion and gender-affirming care — regardless of where they live across the US."

"This support is being extended to include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee's home geographic region," Microsoft's statement said.

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This comes after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion revealed last week that the court could be poised to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that granted women the right to an abortion. If the Roe decision is struck down, 23 states have laws that could then ban or severely limit access to abortion.

The maximum amount that Microsoft will cover for employee travel expenses is not clear from its statement to Reuters and Bloomberg.

Other companies, including fellow tech firms Amazon and Yelp, have already announced plans to help cover travel costs for employees so they can travel to other states for abortion care.

Some large employers, including Amazon, announced travel-expense policies for abortion services in response to increasingly restrictive legislation from some Republican-controlled states including Texas and Oklahoma ahead of the Supreme Court leak.