Pro-life activists collect signatures to protest companies paying for abortion travel
Article - 3 minute read
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many companies decided to pay travel costs for employees who want to get abortions but would have to go out of state should their state choose to restrict or possibly ban abortions.
Multiple sources have shared a growing list of companies that are prepared to take such action including: Accenture, Adidas, Airbnb, Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Box.com, Bumble, Chase, Chobani, Citigroup, Comcast-NBC Universal, Condé Nast, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Disney, DoorDash, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett Packard, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan, Kroger, Levi Strauss, Lyft, Mastercard, Match Group, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Nike, Paramount, Patagonia, PayPal, Reddit, Salesforce, Starbucks, Tesla, Uber, Warner Brothers Discovery, Yelp and Zillow.
In Kansas, people will be going to the polls on August 2 to vote on the Value Them Both bill. This bill does not ban abortion, but rather bans taxpayer funding of abortion. Should Kansans vote in favor of the bill, the following text will be added to the Kansas Constitution:
“§ 22. Regulation of abortion. Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.”
Across Kansas, it is rare to find any signs that say, “Vote No.” However, in Lawrence, one of the bluest cities in the state, the opposite appears true with seemingly every other house portraying a “Vote No” sign. Still, that has not stopped a few grassroots activists from taking a stand in the area.
On Sunday, July 3, Douglas County Commissioner Political Candidate for District 1 Dr. Justin Spiehs (R), along with pro-life activists Sue Herynk, Amy Baughman, and Nicole Presoicka stood by the streets outside of the Dillons grocery store on W 6th St near Wakarusa Dr. Baughman and Presoicka stood outside an entrance to the Dillon’s parking lot on Wakarusa Dr while Dr. Spiehs and Herynk stood on a corner on W 6th St where cars enter the Dillon’s parking lot.
“We’ve been protesting against the mandates for vaxes and masks,” Presoicka said. “This just seemed like a whole higher level. Probably going to elicit more controversy is my thought. But it’s something that we have to stand up for because it seems like the norm to support killing babies versus supporting mothers and having babies. Somebody has to speak up for the babies.”
A spokesperson for Kroger explained that employees at the stores would reportedly receive up to $4,000 in coverage for healthcare and travel reproductive services, including abortion.
“I think it’s important to enlighten people that companies are doing this,” Baughman said. “I think a lot of people don’t know, and I don’t think it’s right for companies to do this. I think it encourages people to not be responsible; that there’s an easy way out. I just think enlightening people to what’s going on and hoping to raise some awareness and get some signatures will hopefully wake the people up who are doing this—the owners of the stores.”
The four activists collected 16 signatures after a couple of hours protesting. They plan on being out at 11 am on July 4 to collect more signatures. If things go well, plans to protest will continue including possibly at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Lawrence.