How Consumers Want Brands to Respond to Roe v. Wade Being Overturned

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, has now rippled throughout the business worlds, presenting huge challenges for companies navigating their own position on the topic. 

Because the decision means abortion access will be sharply curtailed in some states, but remain accessible in others, companies including Walt Disney Co., Nike Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have pledged to help employees travel to other states for abortion care, among other policies to assist employees who seek an abortion. 

Such moves could earn public approval for those brands. A new Morning Consult survey found that corporate efforts in support of abortion access are much more popular among U.S. adults than those that support the Supreme Court's decision.

Americans favor corporate moves that strengthen abortion access 

  • A majority of respondents said they support companies covering medical services, travel and lodging for employees who need to travel to another state to access abortion care (51%) and allowing employees who are concerned about losing access to abortion to relocate to another state (56%). 
  • Prohibiting discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision at work, as Meta Platforms Inc. reportedly did, was very unpopular, with 57% of adults opposed to the policy. 
  • In terms of making public statements, respondents again favored companies’ declaring a pro-choice position: Nearly half (49%) said they support when companies make a statement in opposition to the decision, compared with 29% in support of a statement that endorses the ruling. 

Job applicants want family planning options

Morning Consult’s survey also found that 35% of adults and half of women between ages 18 and 44 said they would be discouraged from accepting a job at a company that does not offer health insurance that covers birth control. 

Younger generations, including Gen Z, appear to feel especially committed to abortion and contraception access. Seven in 10 Gen Zers said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 44% said they would be discouraged from accepting a job that did not offer a health insurance plan that covered birth control. Brands not only have public perception to consider in this matter, but also the wishes of their current — and future — employees.

The June 30-July 2, 2022, survey was conducted among a representative sample of 2,210 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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