Citi Draws Ire of Texas Republicans Over Its New Abortion Policy

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Yeah for Citi. One way to gut the Texas abortion ban (SB 8) is to pay for travel costs for employees to get the needed treatment and medical care

Link to tweet

Citigroup Inc. may have found a way of doing business in Texas while addressing one of the state’s hottest cultural divides.

Buried in a filing released Tuesday night, the bank disclosed it will now cover travel costs for employees seeking an abortion after several states including Texas implemented or proposed a near-total ban on the procedure. The New York-based bank will pay expenses, such as airfare and lodging, that employees may incur if forced to leave a state for an abortion.

Under Jane Fraser, who rose to become the bank’s chief executive officer a year ago, Citi is wading into the conflict over abortion rights just as some of the largest banks and asset managers in the U.S. accelerate a flight from the coasts, drawn to Texas and elsewhere by lower taxes, lighter regulation and warmer weather. Reaction from Texas Republicans was swift.

“The ‘travel benefits’ offered by Citigroup is nothing more than a PR stunt by a ‘woke’ company to support a culture of death,” George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner running for the Republican nomination for attorney general, said by email Wednesday. “Texas is a pro-life state, and if elected Attorney General, I will hold actors who attempt to find loopholes in our laws accountable.”

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Good for Citigroup!

This is why we need more female executives!

[SallyHemmings]

2. It's amazing the creative thinking

being exercised by a female CEO.

This is the reason the grumpy old farts are blocking the door to the boardroom.

[Warpy]

13. Retention is cheaper than recruitment

This is a savvy decision by someone who realizes unwanted pregnancy can kill a career and that will cost them a bundle of money as they try to replace her and train her replacement.

Too bad more top executives have always been blind to this.

[Coventina]

3. Gee, what happened to the idea of a Free Market?

If people are against abortion, don't bank with Citi?

[Deuxcents]

4. I have a Citi Card but don't use it..I'll send em a ty note instead

[rickford66]

5. Hey George P. Bush ......

go F**K yourself !!

[dchill]

10. Just trying to preserve the family name's miasma?

[rickford66]

14. You forced me to look up a word. Rats.

[dchill]

18. You're welcome!

[DET]

6. Brilliant!

Kudos to this brave woman. I bet this totally pissed off the fossilized misogynistic good ole boys. Two can play the “actors who attempt to find loopholes in our laws” game.

[gratuitous]

7. Gee, George

Maybe if your party hadn't written such a clumsy, unconstitutional and un-American piece of legislation, maybe there wouldn't be so many "loopholes" for people to find and exploit. Besides, if it's just a "PR stunt," the God-bothering citizens of Texas shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[localroger]

8. This is actually a very sharp move

The real problem with the Texas abortion ban isn't that it's an abortion ban, but that the enforcement mechanism attempts to dodge Federal limits by making enforcement a civil matter triggered by random strangers being able to sue anybody for violating it. This is a can of worms of infinite depth in many other matters. Most charities and friends who might help a woman travel out of state cannot risk being sued and the resulting legal expenses, even if they were likely to win, which they might not in a Texas court under this law. But Citi is a big corporation. Yeah, try suing them and see how far you get when your opponent can afford REAL lawyers and isn't afraid to spend money on their services.

Big corporations are a big problem of another nature, but even a stopped clock twice a day etc. A lot of said big corporations are very unhappy with both the defiant anti-Roe ban and this lawsuit enforcement foolishness. This is a way for them to strike back so that their employees don't move away from their Texas operations en masse. It's not selfless, which is good because they might keep it up, and it probably will have a positive effect.

[Buckeyeblue]

9. This is great but I'd like to see businesses pull out of Texas

It's all about the money. Enough businesses leave and Texas may decide to change its laws.

[dchill]

11. Agreed.

[TeamProg]

16. +1

[LiberalFighter]

12. Cheaper than hospital expenses for child birth and expenses after birth.

[Haggard Celine]

20. That's what I was thinking.

Besides all of the moral arguments, pro and con, forcing people to carry unwanted children is just plain wasteful.

[TeamProg]

15. Texas is in a race to the bottom vs Florida. n/t

[LetMyPeopleVote]

23. Abbott and Deathsantis are in a fight to see who is the bigger asshole

[area51]

17. GPB

George Burglar Bush

[dlk]

19. The radical guns culture is the actual culture of death

Bush has it wrong.

[Hekate]

21. Fan-tastic

[UTUSN]

22. K&R