Citi angers Texas GOP over travel benefits for abortions

[MissMillie]

Source: CBS News via MSN

Citigroup, the nation's fourth-largest bank, is angering Texas Republicans over its latest workplace benefit: Offering to cover the travel expenses of employees who live in states with restrictive reproductive health care laws, including the state's recently enacted law banning most abortions after six weeks.

Citi disclosed the new policy in a regulatory filing filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15. The bank stated: "In response to changes in reproductive health care laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources."

In an emailed statement to CBS MoneyWatch, Republican Party of Texas chairman Matt Rinaldi called the policy "appalling" and said the group is urging Republicans to snub Citi's services.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/citi-angers-texas-gop-over-travel-benefits-for-abortions/ar-AAVcj2w?li=BBnb7Kz

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This gets interesting. Private citizens wanting to bring suit against those who help women get abortions now face the prospect of bringing suit against a company w/ very deep pockets.

Good for Citi.

On edit: If Citi offers this as part of their employee benefits package... can it be considered "assistance?"

I imagine if someone were to take advantage of this benefit, they'd have to claim it on their taxes, but other than that is there anything a governmental body can do to prevent Citi from offering this benefit?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Really good news. . . . nt

[ck4829]

2. Conservative Socialism

[BlueIdaho]

3. Whatever happened to free enterprise?

Is it dead in Texastan?

[orwell]

7. Free Enterprise...

...is no longer "operational", because, you know, Jesus, and stuff...

[CurtEastPoint]

4. oh waaah waaah waaah, Mattie. Do you has a smug pouty sad? Fuck you, then.

https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/MEQOE7L6LvrEVBXTkZfkn6Qz9U4=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/

[CaptainTruth]

5. Good for Citi!

[lagomorph777]

6. Citi may be deliberately taunting Texas to sue them.

It's not good for business when some states descend into sharia and medieval torture.

I don't think you'd have to declare this as income; it's a health care benefit. It would be similar to any other health care coverage.

[MissKat]

8. Bloody feminine hygiene products-- they must want to see them

In order to prove that when a woman leaves Texas she is not leaving to get an abortion I think that these women should save their soiled bloody feminine hygiene products so they can MAIL THEM TO GOVERNOR ABBOT or ATTORNEY GENERAL PAXTON. They can put a note that says, "See, I am a good girl."

[cbabe]

16. Periods for Pence. Go national.

Wikipedia:

Periods for Politicians (originally Periods for Pence) is a campaign launched by the women of Indiana in response to a controversial abortion bill passed by Republican Mike Pence, the fiftieth governor of Indiana, in March 2016. The campaign encourages women to send emails, tweets and phone calls to the governor's office reporting the progression of their menstrual cycles.[1] The group's Facebook page was created March 28 of 2016.


Pence, a self declared "Christian, a conservative, and a republican in that order", signed House Enrolled Act 1337[2] into law in March 2016 to go into effect July 1 of 2016. Pence described the law as "a comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life." The bill added provisions to Indiana's previously existing abortion laws. HEA 1337 of Indiana forbids a person from getting an abortion on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the fetus. It is also illegal for a woman to seek an abortion based on a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability.

With the passing of this bill, Indiana joined North Dakota as the second state to ban abortion on the grounds of fetal anomaly. Women who have conceived children fostering fetal defects may be forced to continue with complicated, high-risk pregnancies.[3] The bill allows for doctors to be sued for terminating pregnancies following these diagnoses. Doctors at abortion clinics will have to obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. An admitting privilege is the right of a doctor to admit patients to a hospital for medical treatment. Some hospitals, however, are unwilling to grant admitting privileges to abortion providers, may result in the closing of clinics (only 4 of 92 counties in Indiana have abortion clinics). Lastly, the bill states that fetal tissue from both abortions and miscarriages must be either cremated or buried.

The residents of Indiana responded in a campaign that became known as "Periods for Pence".[4] A Facebook page was created anonymously on March 28 urging women from all over the state to send in emails, tweets, and phone calls to the governor's office reporting the progression of their menstrual flow, cramps, birth control, tampon discomfort, bloating, and even menopausal advancements.

The organizer of the Facebook page emphasized a specific aspect of the law, forcing miscarried fetuses and aborted fetuses to be "interred or cremated by a facility having possession of the remains," regardless of the age of the fetus. In response to this, the organizer posted:

Fertilized eggs can be expelled during a woman's period without a woman even knowing that she might have had the potential blastocyst in her. Therefore, any period could potentially be a miscarriage without knowledge. I would certainly hate for any of my fellow Hoosier women to be at risk of penalty if they do not 'properly dispose' of this or report it. Just to cover our bases, perhaps we should make sure to contact Governor Pence's office to report our periods. We wouldn't want him thinking that THOUSANDS OF HOOSIER WOMEN A DAY are trying to hide anything, would we?[5]
Following this first post on Facebook, thousands of women commented about the progression of their menstrual cycles. The page publicly shared the phone number of Governor Pence's office for the usage of any fans of the page. As of November 2016, the page had more than 70,000 likes.

[Lonestarblue]

9. The Texas GOP is always angry over something.

Don’t want to invest in dirty Texas fossil fuels? We’re coming after you. Want an abortion that’s legal in 49 other states ? Too bad, we say you have no rights. Have a trans kid? Oh good, we get to charge child abuse and put them in foster care so they can be beaten and raped. That’s the Texas GOP—angry white men (with a few women thrown in) who think anyone who opposes their medieval thinking needs to be punished. My God, this political party needs to die. I need to research how the Whigs disappeared. There might be lessons we could use.

[h2ebits]

10. +++++1000

[iscooterliberally]

11. Republican 'happiness' is contingent upon the suffering of others. n/t

[momta]

19. "How the Whigs disappeared..."

My son has been researching this. I should get him to do an OP.

[SergeStorms]

12. Texas republicans must realize....

that the majority of people don't agree with their archaic and punative laws regarding a woman's reproductive rights.

Male legislators in Texas have no right to tell women what they can, and can't do, with their bodies. End of freaking story.

[txwhitedove]

24. ...

Yep

[AllaN01Bear]

13. eggscllent.

:hattip :

[aquamarina]

14. American Airlines - are you paying attention?

American should be offering it's people the same benefit.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

15. Anything that pisses off the GOP is okay by me

[ShazzieB]

17. I LOVE this!

I chortled, snickered, and giggled as I was reading it.

Looks like the joke's on Texass!

[Volaris]

18. Now THAT is a suit genetically tailored to one Chief John Robert's lol...

Awwww...is he a Catholic first, or a Corpratist.

Oh, honey, hes a Corpratist before hes anything else.
Sorry, Christian Sharia Lunatics.
Sue them, my monies on Citi (and fuck Citibank for making me say that).

[momta]

20. When my husband read me this story yesterday...

He prefaced it with "I think we need to get a Citibank credit card." Love him.

[hamsterjill]

22. I know!!

I have a low opinion of Citi, but this might change that!

[wolfie001]

21. Ha ha republiTURDS!!!

Also: TAX THE EFFING CHURCHES!!!

[Tree Lady]

23. Costco Visa is by Citibank

Only thing I have with them. Haven't had any problems.

[SergeStorms]

26. Same here.

I use it for everything from gas to washers and driers at Costco. Good rewards program too.

With interest rates climbing now it would be wise to pay off the balance at the end of each month though.

[Tree Lady]

27. I always do that although

Some months I have to transfer from savings.

[SergeStorms]

28. Oh yeah, me too.

No way I keep that much in a very low interest checking account.

It's a good thing I have overdraft protection, because there have been times I've forgotten to transfer enough from savings to cover my purchases. Talk about being embarrassed.

[Haggis 4 Breakfast]

25. Joke's on you, Texas.

You CANNOT interfere in what happens outside of the boundaries of your state.

This gives a whole new meaning to "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You" now doesn't it ?