SAG-AFTRA Health Plan Will Reimburse Non-State Abortions for Actors and Their Children

SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood’s largest union health plan, announced that it would cover the costs of out-of-state travel and living for plan members and their dependents, promising “access to safe abortion services wherever they live or work.” “

With nearly 160,000 members, SAG-AFTRA, while not eligible for the health plan, which is among the most generous in the industry, represents film actors as well as many journalists and news professionals.

The union health plan released a statement on Friday calling abortion “reproductive health care.”

SAG-AFTRA Health Plan Accepts Travel Reimbursement Allowance for Members in Restricted Countries https://t.co/4YdNIf4nHG pic.twitter.com/lSS7NCmsV0

— SAG-AFTRA NEWS (@sagaftranews) August 12, 2022

“All Americans, regardless of where they live or work, should have equal access to life-saving, basic and often life-saving reproductive health services,” the statement said.

Under the new rules, if an actress lives in a state where abortion is legal but works in a state where abortion is illegal, she can choose between going home for the procedure or going to the nearest state where abortion is legal. .

If an artist lives in a state where abortion is illegal, he or she may choose to have the procedure done in the nearest state where abortion is legal.

A more detailed document clarifies that the plan also covers the artists’ “dependent spouses” and “dependent children” – but these children will be paid “only in case of emergency abortion”.

This statement was made after the historic collapse of the Supreme Court. Rowe vs. Wadethis gives back to the states and jurisdictions the power to decide the issue of abortion for themselves.

Several Hollywood studios have promised to cover the travel expenses of employees who want to have abortions. According to Breitbart News, these include Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. discovery

Many movies and TV shows are filmed in Georgia and Louisiana because of the lucrative tax breaks that the studios don’t want to give up. Both states have recently imposed restrictions on abortion, and Louisiana has made all abortions illegal in the state.

A federal judge in Georgia recently ruled that the state fetal heart law, which outlaws abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, could go into effect.