The top executives of more than 180 companies have signed a letter that says abortion is essential in order for people to be successful in their businesses.
“When everyone is empowered to succeed, our companies, our communities and our economy are better for it,” the executives say in the letter posted on a newly launched website titled “Don’t Ban Equality.”
“Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers,” they said, adding:
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.
A full list of the companies who signed the letter can be found here. They include:
- Slack Technologies
- Bloomberg LP
- MAC Cosmetics
- H&M
- Yelp
- Square, Inc
- Ben & Jerry’s
- Atlantic Records & Warner Music Group
- POPSUGAR
- Hint, inc.
- The Body Shop US
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, signed the letter for his other company, digital payment platform Square.
The letter appeared as a full-page ad in the New York Times Monday, reported CNN.
The abortion lobby, led by Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the ACLU formed the coalition of business executives as more states are passing restrictions on abortion.
Ilyse Hogue, NARAL’s president, said her abortion advocacy group is praising the executives for “taking a stand on behalf of their employees, customers, and communities.”
“We encourage the entire business community to join us in protecting access to reproductive health care in the critical months and years to come,” she said.
A Marist poll released in January found 76 percent of Americans are in favor of limiting abortion to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy, including 92 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of independents, and 61 percent of Democrats.
Additionally, while 51 percent of Americans identify as “pro-choice,” even 60 percent of those agree with substantial restrictions on abortion.
The poll also found 60 percent oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions.