Wells Fargo says it will cover employees’ travel costs for legal abortion services

Wells Fargo, which manages the largest branch-banking systems in the U.S. and in the Philadelphia area, on Monday told its 246,000 employees that as of Friday, July 1, “we’re expanding the coverage of our travel benefit to include reimbursement of transportation and lodging costs for legal abortion-related services” for women covered by Wells Fargo medical plans and their dependents.

The plan will include abortion under the “health care services you or your dependents require” that are “not available within 50 miles from your home,” for which the company will pay transportation and lodging costs for the insured woman and a companion, according to the statement sent to staff.

» READ MORE: Pa. seen as a battleground over abortion rights; companies speak out against Supreme Court ruling

“We are committed to providing benefits that offer a wide variety of medical plans and programs to support you and your loved ones during moments that matter, and want to ensure you have access to quality health care, when you need it, and where you need it,” the bank’s statement concluded.

The new policy is “part of our commitment to supporting the health of our employees,” added Wells Fargo spokeswoman Beth Richek in an email.

JPMorgan, Chase & Co., which has over 10,000 employees in northern Delaware and the Philadelphia area, has made a similar commitment, as has Bank of America Corp., which has over 5,000 employees in the region.

Comcast, the largest company based in Philadelphia with around 189,000 staff members at the end of last year, has in place what it calls a “travel benefit” for Comcast and NBCUniversal employees, which includes paying for staff to obtain abortions and other medical procedures when these are not available near an employee’s home.