Top executives from more than 180 companies have a message for lawmakers: Restricting abortion is “bad for business.”
A letter endorsed by the business leaders appeared as a full-page ad in Monday’s New York Times, declaring “it’s time for companies to stand up for reproductive health care.”
They argue that limiting access to comprehensive care, “including abortion,” threatens “the health, independence, and economic stability of our employees and customers.” The letter says strict abortion laws are “against our values” and impede corporate efforts to build diverse workforces.
Among the list of the ad’s endorsers are chief executives from Yelp (YELP), Slack, Tinder, H&M, and food delivery app Postmates. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter (TWTR), was also on the list, though he signed on behalf of the other company he runs, digital payment firm Square. The group included fashion designer Eileen Fisher.
Businesses have shown a growing willingness to take stands on issues like LGBTQ rights, immigration and gun control — but they’ve remained mostly silent on abortion policy through years of debate.
That changed for some companies this year after Alabama lawmakers approved a near-total ban on abortion, and as “heartbeat” laws, which prohibit abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected or as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, gained new traction in several states. They include Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Louisiana.
Three of the world’s biggest entertainment companies — Netflix (NFLX), Disney (DIS) and WarnerMedia — said last month that they may stop producing movies and TV shows in Georgia if the state’s “heartbeat” law takes effect. (WarnerMedia, a unit of AT&T, is the parent company of CNN.)
The executives behind the letter were brought together by a coalition that includes the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Ilyse Hogue, NARAL’s president, said in a statement that the organization applauds 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 added.
The coalition is calling the campaign “Don’t Ban Equality” and it launched a website Monday that invites other executives to sign on.
Vikrum Aiyer, vice president of public policy at Postmates, said in an interview with CNN Business that his company decided to speak out “principally because of values” and because restricting women’s access to abortion hampers their ability to “make economic choices.”
“The lack of simple access to care and treatment, and having to leave state lines in order to seek that treatment, means not only is their well-being at risk, but their economic and financial circumstances are at risk,” Aiyer said.
“We already have pretty anemic parental leave laws in this country to begin with, and a pay gap on top of that,” he said, calling abortion restrictions “another chipping away of gender equity.”
Aiyer said Postmates is bracing for pushback from consumers who disagree with the company’s stance — but, he added, “it matters more to us that women are stood up for.”
“It’s not a Democratic value or a Republican value; it’s the value of personal sovereignty,” Aiyer added. “Democracy is messy, but our taking of a position is more about sparking a conversation than imposing a position on our employees or customers.”
Here is the full list of companies and people who signed the letter:
Bloomberg LP
Peter T. Grauer
MAC Cosmetics
Philippe Pinatel
DVF
Diane von Furstenberg
H&M
Ezinne Kwubiri
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics
Mark and Karen Wolverton
Yelp
Jeremy Stoppelman
Square, Inc
Jack Dorsey
Portland General Electric
Maria Pope
Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
Eric S. Yuan
Zendesk
Mikkel Svane
The Standard
Amar Lalvani
Warby Parker
Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa
Okta
Todd McKinnon
Slack Technologie
Stewart Butterfield
Postmates
Bastian Lehmann
Eileen Fisher
Eileen Fisher
Dermalogica Professional Skincare
Aurelian Lis
The Body Shop US
Andrea Blieden
Quintessentially
Annastasia Seebohm
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade
Matthew McCarthy
Teads
Bertrand Quesada
IDEO
Tim Brown
BlueJeans Network
Quentin Gallivan
Atlantic Records & Warner Music Group
Julie Greenwald
Endeavor
Patrick Whitesell and Ariel Emanuel
Amalgamated Bank
Keith Mestrich
M.M. LaFleur
Sarah LaFleur
rag & bone
Marcus Wainwright
Away
Steph Korey & Jen Rubio
Beneficial State Bank
Kat Taylor
Birchbox
Katie Beauchamp
Glossier
Emily Weiss
The Wing
Audrey Gelman & Lauren Kassan
Kenneth Cole Productions
Kenneth Cole
Everlane
Michael Preysman
Seventh Generation
Joey Bergstein
Rebecca Minkoff
Rebecca Minkoff
Gabriela Hearst
Gabriela Hearst
Unity Technologies
John Riccitiello
&pizza
Michael Lastoria
Refinery29
Philippe von Borries
POPSUGAR
Lisa Sugar, Brian Sugar
Hello Alfred
Marcela Sapone
Tinder
Elie Seidman
The Cut
Stella Bugbee
CREDO Mobile
Ray Morris
Outdoor Voices
Ty Haney
ChowNow
Christopher Webb
Hint, inc.
Kara Goldin
R2C Group
Michelle Cardinal
Catbird
Rony Elka Vardi
The Muse
Kathryn Minshew & Alex Cavoulacos
BaubleBar
Amy Jain & Daniella Yacobovsky
hims & hers
Andrew Dudum
Blavity
Morgan DeBaun
Cinq à Sept and LIKELY
Jane Siskin
The Riveter
Amy Nelson
THINX
Maria Molland
Trillium Asset Management
Matthew Patsky
WILDFANG
Emma Mcilroy
Richer Poorer
Iva Pawling
Mara Hoffman
Mara Hoffman
OUAI
Jen Atkin
TomboyX
Fran Dunaway
Heartbeat
Kate Edwards
Sustain
Meika Hollender
Dame Products
Alexandra Fine
ADAY
Nina Faulhaber & Meg He
Designer Revival
Tiffany Keriakos
Cora
Molly Hayward
Visit.Org Inc.
Michal Alter
Fur
Laura Schubert
LaRue PR LLC
Jessy Klein Fofana
Lesbians Who Tech
Leanne Pittsford
Nia Impact Capital
Kristin Hull
We Dream in Color
Jade Gedeon
The Cru
Tiffany Dufu
Harrington Investments, Inc.
John Harrington
Dazey LA
Dani Nagel
Gotham Gal
Joanne Wilson
Union Station
Corie Hardee
New York Media
Pam Wasserstein
Le Tote
Rakesh Tondon
Aspiration
Andrei Cherny
Sunshine Sachs
Shawn Sachs
BerlinRosen
Jonathan Rosen & Valerie Berlin
Swift
Liz Valentine
Verified Strategy
Tammy Gordon
Bolt Threads
Dan Widmaier
Lex Machina
Josh Becker
Food52
Amanda Hesser
PR Consulting
Pierre Rougier
Overtime
Dan Porter
Godfrey Dadich Partners
Patrick Godfrey & Scott Dadich
Naadam
Matthew Scanlan
Clare V.
Clare Vivier
Parachute
Ariel Kaye
Houseparty
Sima Sistani
Threads 4 Thought
Eric Fleet
The Lede Company
Meredith O’Sullivan, Sarah Rothman, Amanda Silverman, Christine Su
HATCH
Ariane Goldman
Clark
Meghan O’Connor
NOAH
Brendon Babenzien
Becca PR
Becca Parrish
Homeboy Electronics Recycling
Kabira Stokes
Full Circle Brands
Tal Chitayat
DRG Search
Dara Z. Klarfeld
CleaverCo
Mary R. Cleaver
Lingua Franca
Rachelle Hruska
Shoppable.com
Heather Marie Udo
La LOOP
Elizabeth Faraut
Bhakti, Inc.
Sarah W. Bird
Inspiring Capital
Nell Derick Debevoise
HigherRing White-Glove Customer Service
Michelle Hirons
Global Gaming Initiative + JukkoElizabeth Sarquis
Tia
Carolyn Witte
Lora DiCarlo
Lora Haddock
Bantam Tools
Bre Pettis
Timehop
Matthew Raoul
Soma Massage Therapy
Amber Briggle
MilkRun, Inc.
Julia Niiro
Milk Crate
Morgan Berman
The Jane Club
Dorian Howard + Zoe Regan
WaitWhat
June Cohen and Deron Triff
STATE Bags
Jessica Davidoff
Picture Motion
Christie Marchese
Plum Alley Investments
Deborah Jackson
Grey Horse Communications
Kate Gardiner
Dipsea
Gina Gutierrez
Loop & Tie
Sara Rodell
VenueBook
Kelsey Recht
PRIMA
Christopher Gavigan
Hugo
Alberto Escarlate
Agents of Change Partners
Tracey Wood
Paladin
Felicity Conrad
atlasGO
Thomas Querton
Livary Clothing
Alysia Reiner
Yulu PR
Melissa Orozco
Indigo
Ena Zheng
iFundWomen
Karen Cahn
The Helm
Lindsey Taylor Wood
ROAM
Christopher Jerard
ClearHealthCosts
Jeanne Pinder
Lately
Kate Bradley Chernis
LimeRed
Emily Lonigro
MakeLoveNotPorn
Cindy Gallop
Rebellious PR & Consulting
Evie Smith
BeautifulNow
Shira White
VOZ
Jasmine Etoile Aarons
Sustainable Pacific
Jennifer Chirico
Balloonr
Amanda Greenberg
SVILU
Marina Polo & Britt Cosgrove
Sophie Theallet
Steve Francoeur
FoodtoEat
Deepti Sharma
McPherson Strategies
Susan McPherson
Vista Global Coaching & Consulting
Mary Stelletello
WhyWhisper Collective
Alexandra Ostrow
Iconery
Ivka Adam
Aunt Flow
Claire Coder
LOROD
Lauren Rodriguez
Andrena
Neil Chatterjee
RAD
Carineh Martin
Change Catalyst
Melinda Briana Epler
Fathom
Pavia Rosati
Heather Taylor Home
Heather Taylor
Adam Selman Sport
Adam Selman
Superfit Hero
Micki Krimmel
Repairogen Corporation
Frank Borchetta
Gyrate Media
Margit Detweiler
Lorals
Melanie Cristol
Mangrove Web Development
Maiya Holliday
Green Retirement, Inc.
Rose Penelope L. Yee
Seed Systems
Sara Schley
Female Founders Fund
Anu Duggal
Ends+Stems
Alison Mountford
Beefcake Swimwear
Mel Brittner Wells
RockPaperRobot
Jessica Banks
Colibri Digital Marketing
Anna Colibri
NEEV
Ruksana Azhu Valappil
Narrative Food
Jennifer Field Piette
RoundPeg Benefit LLC
Polina Pinchevsky
Certifiably
Anne Chambers
Arrow Event Management
Emily R. Olson
Shifting Patterns Consulting
Kimberley Jutze
Nathalie Molina Niño, LLC
Nathalie Molina Niño
Unbound
Polly Rodriguez and Sarah Jayne Kinney
