Starbucks to cover eligible travel expenses for employees seeking abortions

May 16 (UPI) -- Starbucks employees who want to have an abortion or gender-affirming procedure will have their eligible travel expenses paid for by their company, the Seattle-based coffee giant announced Monday.

Amazon, Apple, Salesforce and Microsoft are among other firms to offer travel reimbursement for workers seeking out such procedures in the wake of a leaked draft showing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Eligibility is open to the coffee chain's employees enrolled in its insurance plan if they have to travel 100 miles or more from home to access abortion or gender-affirming services. The reimbursement also applies to employees' dependents enrolled in the company's health plan, Starbucks said.

Starbucks employees over 240,000 people in the United States.

"Regardless of what the Supreme Court ends up deciding, we will always ensure our partners have access to quality health care," Starbucks acting executive vice president of partner resources Sara Kelly said in a letter to employees, as reported by Newsweek.