Forty Texas companies, led by Bumble, are voicing opposition to Texas' abortion ban and the estimated $14.5 billion in annual lost revenue it might cause, according to a brief submitted to the Texas Supreme Court as per KXAN News. This debate has elevated businesses' role in the discourse around the ban's economic consequences.
Amanda Zurawski, the leading plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas, challenges the abortion ban, citing that it almost cost her life when the unclear medical exceptions prevented her from obtaining a necessary abortion in time. The lawsuit will be argued before the high court soon, the Austin Business Journal reports.
Pledging her company's full support, Bumble's CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd said, “We feel it’s our duty not just to provide our workforce with access to reproductive health care, but to speak out—and speak loudly—against the retrogression of women’s rights,” as KXAN News quotes. Additional companies and organizations, such as South by Southwest, Zilker Properties, ATX Television Festival, and Central Presbyterian Church, also endorsed the brief.
Supported by research from the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), the brief claims that the ban costs Texas approximately $15 billion each year due, in large part, to its impact on working women, potentially leading to reduced earnings, increased absenteeism, and even total workforce withdrawal according to KXAN News. The IWPR estimates that over 80,000 women between 15 and 44 could join the workforce if the ban were not in effect.
An ambiguous regulatory landscape in Texas is creating difficulties for those working and traveling in the state, causing a negative impact on employee recruitment and retention and hindering new business, visitor, and event attraction, Reed Smith law firm points out KXAN News states.
On the other hand, proponents of the abortion ban argue that it does not keep doctors from providing medically necessary abortions; this is a misunderstanding around the law's exceptions. John Seago of Texas Right to Life said, “Those kind of medical emergency situations clearly can be fixed by education… we have to fill in that gap to protect mothers and their children to make sure that our laws are actually protecting life, not jeopardizing life.” as per KXAN News. He believes that educating doctors on the law's exceptions will enhance protection for both mothers and children and ensure laws serve to conserve, not endanger life.
The Texas Supreme Court is expected to make its decision on the ban on the 28th. Given the strong opposition from businesses and the potential annual economic loss of nearly $15 billion attributed to the ban, the situation remains uncertain.
