Good morning, Broadsheet readers! This is Paige McGlauflin, filling in for Emma. A Louisiana judge has temporarily blocked the state’s antiabortion trigger law, the Supreme Court voted to allow prayer in schools, and Stacey Abrams weighs in on whether companies should boycott abortion-restrictive states.
– Boycotting antiabortion states. Many businesses have spoken out in opposition to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday reversing Roe v. Wade. And, in many instances, they’ve offered employees more comprehensive health care and travel benefits. But Georgia politician and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams believes companies can wield their outsize influence to a far greater extent in states with abortion-restrictive policies.
In a Sunday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Abrams stopped just short of calling on businesses to pull out of states that have near or total bans on abortion, including her own.
“Disney and Netflix have expressed their opposition to the so-called heartbeat abortion ban in Georgia when it was passed in 2019. Do you think those companies should pull their businesses from Georgia, when and if this abortion restriction goes into effect?” Tapper asked Abrams.
“I would tell every single business and every single woman that they should do what is best for the women who work for them. They need to make certain that they are accommodating the very real health care challenges that will face women in the state of Georgia,” Abrams replied, noting Georgia’s law banning abortions after six weeks’ gestation could take effect very soon.
Boycotting such states has already become a topic of discussion among some business leaders. Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn tweeted Friday that if Pennsylvania bans abortion, the Pittsburgh-based tech company “won’t be able to attract talent and we’ll have to grow our offices elsewhere.”
To that end, states that offer abortion protections are now using it to lure business leaders wary of a potential financial hit and difficulty attracting and retaining talent in abortion-restrictive states.
“I’m not sure a CEO will choose a state because it’s pro- or anti-choice,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont told MarketWatch on Friday. “But I do know they want to be in a place where they can recruit good workers. And people, especially young people, will gravitate to a place that will protect women.”
Companies have seen success applying this kind of pressure in the past, such as when North Carolina partially repealed its restrictive restroom law for transgender people after a boycott cost the state nearly $3.76 billion. But boycotts may also hurt those who are most vulnerable to abortion restrictions long before they reach the legislators implementing them.
“The majority of people needing abortion care tend to be lower income. By pulling your money out of the state completely, I think it’s going to hit the most vulnerable people first before it hits political campaigns,” Jamie Phifer, founder and medical director of the telehealth abortion provider Abortion On Demand, recently told Fortune. Instead, Phifer would prefer to see companies cut donations to antiabortion politicians in these states.
“I would like to see businesses say, ‘We are not going to fund these politicians to sign these laws because it harms our employees, it harms our business, and it makes it hard for us to recruit employees into these states because it’s a hostile place to be if you have a uterus.'”
The impact boycotts have on vulnerable populations is also a concern that Abrams previously addressed in response to Georgia’s restrictive voting law. In a 2021 op-ed for USA Today, Abrams wrote that boycotts would cost jobs and ultimately not sway Republican leaders who enacted its restrictive voting rights law, instead urging businesses to “stand with your employees, customers and shareholders, or with those who will take away their voices.”
Paige McGlauflin
[email protected]
@paidion
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- Blocked trigger law. A Louisiana judge temporarily blocked the state’s antiabortion trigger law on Monday. Two abortion rights groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of Hope Medical Group for Women, one of three clinics in the state, arguing the trigger law violates due process rights under the state’s constitution. Abortion care can resume in the state until the lawsuit’s hearing, scheduled for July 8. The Hill
- Say a prayer. The Supreme Court released more decisions on Monday. In a 6-3 vote, with all liberal justices dissenting, the Court ruled in favor of allowing public school employees to pray on school grounds. The ruling overrides the long-observed “Lemon test,” in which judges assess whether government action may look like an endorsement of religion to a reasonable observer. “This Court consistently has recognized that school officials leading prayer is constitutionally impermissible … The Court now charts a different path,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. Washington Post
- Lineup switch. MSNBC has tapped journalist Alex Wagner to replace Rachel Maddow, the network’s most popular host, for its 9 p.m. slot, starting Aug. 16. Maddow reached a deal last year to step back from her hosting duties at the channel but will continue to host “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Monday nights. “I really want the takeaway from this show to be a better understanding of what’s happening in the world,” MSNBC president Rashida Jones said about the decision to appoint Wagner. New York Times
- Barred conversations. Meta told employees on Friday to not discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on company channels. The tech giant originally sent a memo on May 12, after the publication of a leaked draft opinion, prohibiting open discussion of abortion because of a “heightened risk of creating a hostile work environment." The company requested that employees, instead, hold one-on-one or small group conversations with “like-minded” colleagues. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS:
Digital marketing firm Power Digital has hired Stephanie Feldman as its first chief marketing officer. Real estate financing company Greystone has appointed former First Republic Bank co-CEO Hafize Gaye Erkan as CEO. Former Mural chief customer officer Bridget Shea has joined A.I. and data analytics provider Dataiku as chief customer officer.
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- Post-Roe privacy. The vast majority of large tech firms’ privacy policies currently say they will hand over user data to law enforcement in response to a valid order. That's sparked concern over whether they'll provide authorities with user data related to abortions. Separately, Stardust, a free astrology-focused period tracking app that advertises itself as “privacy first,” states in its privacy policy that it will voluntarily provide law enforcement with “anonymized” and “encrypted” data, regardless of a warrant. Stardust was one of Apple’s top-downloaded apps in the days following the Supreme Court’s decision.
- Court date. A Russian court has finally set a date for U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, four months after her arrest for alleged cannabis possession. Griner’s trial will begin on Friday, but the court ordered she remains in jail through its duration. Experts familiar with Griner’s case told ESPN that Russia is likely proceeding with the trial to provide some impression of legitimacy, given the country’s prior indications that it's willing to negotiate her release with the U.S. ESPN
- Growing ranks. National Rally, the French far-right political party led by Marine Le Pen, gained a record number of parliamentary seats in last week’s elections. The once-fringe political party gained 89 elected lawmakers, and is now the second-largest party in the country’s parliament, after President Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! New York Times
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Inside the sexual assault scandal plaguing a high school district Vice
A San Francisco feminist bookstore wanted to “take over the world.” Its closure still holds lessons for today San Francisco Chronicle
Protester: “My rights should not be a fundraising point for the Democrats” MSNBC
Trans chefs are reshaping restaurants—here’s how Bon Appetit
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