Top Business Leaders Declare Abortion Laws ‘Bad for Business’

Business leaders from over 180 companies have endorsed an ad in which they condemn pro-life laws and call them “bad for business.”

The ad appeared in Monday’s edition of the New York Times under the title “Don’t Ban Equality,” Fox Business reports. It calls for companies to jump into the political fray and “stand up for reproductive health care” in all forms. Not only do pro-life laws hurt business, they hurt “the health, independence, and economic stability” of their employees, it adds.

The ad states:

Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers. Simply put, it goes against our values and is bad for business. It impairs our ability to build diverse and inclusive workforce pipelines, recruit top talent across the states, and protect the well-being of all the people who keep our businesses thriving day in and out.

It pleads with other business leaders, arguing that the supposedly uncertain future of gender equality puts everyone — families, communities, businesses, and the economy — at risk.

A number of business leaders signed the letter, including H&M’s Ezinne Kwubiri, MAC Cosmetics’ Philippe Pinatel, Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppelman, Birchbox’s Katie Beauchamp, Soma Massage Therapy’s Amber Briggle, and Tinder’s Elie Seidman. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also signed the letter but on behalf of his other company, Square Inc.

This call to action comes after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) recent signing of a “heartbeat” bill. The law essentially bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is usually six weeks into a pregnancy. If the law does not hit any snags in court, it will go into effect next year.

As a result, pro-choice supporters in Hollywood — like Alyssa Milano — have called for boycotts of the state.

AMC Networks — which is behind the hit show The Walking Dead — has called Georgia’s law “highly restrictive” and is reportedly reconsidering filming future episodes of the show in the state.