According to Reuters, Amazon told its staff this week that “it will pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for non-life threatening medical treatments including abortions.”
This follows a trend set by other major companies, such as Citigroup and Yelp, who have also said that they will assist employees who seek abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned regardless of whether they are employed in states that restrict them.
While some on social media say this is an unequivocal good, others claim that one good thing should not cloud the other issues that exist with companies like Amazon.
A discussion on the topic recently broke out on TikTok after user Kayla Jardine (@journalistjardine) made a video on the topic. Kayla’s video currently has over 85,000 views.
@journalistjardine There are a bunch of other companies too #mybodymychoice #reproductiverights #defendroevwade #feminism #sexism #breakingnews #roevwade #roevwadeoverturn #roevwadeoverturned #supremecourtleak #amazonnews @journalistjardine ♬ Bezos I – Bo Burnham
“Did you hear Amazon will reimburse U.S. workers who have to travel to get an abortion?” Kayla asks in the beginning of the video.
“*immediately starts supporting amazon*,” she writes in the text overlaying the video.
While Kayla notes in comments that this video is “just a joke” and that she was just trying to enjoy “one good piece of news in a shitty news cycle,” the video still sparked considerable debate and discussion.
On one side, people were against supporting Amazon, no matter their stance on abortion.
“Nah,” stated a user. “The pros don’t out weigh the cons of Amazon.”
“One good does not [outweigh] the harm amazon does,” agreed a second. “Please avoid supporting them as much as possible.”
“Ehhhhh Amazon still is bad,” wrote a third. “Go support local businesses instead [if] you can.”
Some were most explicit in their criticism.
“Yikes bestie,” wrote a TikToker.
“Uh…maybe don’t…,” another commented.
Others still said that Amazon’s decision may have been more practical than ideological.
“[In my opinion] it’s easier for them to pay them 4k and a few days off instead of suffering the cost of health care and maternity leave,” claimed a TikToker.
On the other side, some shared that, while they do not support Amazon, they’re content that such a large company has taken a stance on the issue that they support.
“OP is NOT saying amazon is a good company,” a user explains. “This is a small win tho.”
“People are going to continue using Amazon, so to me it’s good if their policies reflect how the country feels,” Kayla stated in comments. Kayla later wrote, “Never said they were a good company! But I do believe this policy might help some people.”
Kayla did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via Instagram DM and TikTok comment.
Update 6:37am CT, May 8: In a conversation to Daily Dot, Kayla reflected on the discussion her TikTok inspired.
“It’s been really interesting to see how people responded to the news that Amazon is doing that,” she says. “I do think it’s important to call out that it’s not just for abortion procedures but other medical operations. And I did another TikTok video on other brands who have made similar commitments.”
“A lot of people in the comments were comparing it to when brands started to support BLM following the protests after George Floyd’s death, but people were waiting for real structural change to help with inequality and it never came for a lot of those companies,” she continued.
As for why exactly Amazon did this, she says she’s not sure. “It’s hard to say why Amazon did it — lots of commenters said so they don’t have to pay maternity/paternity leave — but I think regardless of the reasoning if brands actually do big changes to better reflect how majority of their workers/Americans feel, I’m all for it,” she states. “I really do hope that the policy will help workers who really need it, regardless of what the PR aspect does for the company.”
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