Helping hand | Amazon funds staff travel for abortions & drug abuse help - should you follow?

Amazon will reimburse staff in the US who travel for a wide range of non-life threatening medical treatments, including elective abortions.

The firm told its staff on Monday it will pay up to £3,195 ($4,000) in travel expenses annually for non-life threatening medical treatments including abortions, according to a message seen by Reuters news agency.

The decision makes the online retailer the latest company after huge firms such as Citigroup and Yelp, to help employees bypass Republican-backed state laws curbing abortion access. It shows how companies are eager to retain and attract talent in locations that remain important to their operations despite legal changes impacting employees' health.

The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule by the end of June in a case that gives its conservative majority a chance to roll back abortion rights or even overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalised the procedure nationwide. About two dozen states including Oklahoma and Alabama have laws poised to limit abortion access should the Roe ruling be overturned.