In a social media post, Canva said it was deeply concerned about the millions of people who lost access to safe healthcare.

“While we deeply appreciate the spectrum of personal views on this topic, we believe that safe healthcare is a human right and that everyone should be empowered to make their own choices,” the company said.

“In addition to our current wellbeing offerings, including Flex Leave, Volunteering Leave, Donation Matching and internal coaching support, as a first step, from today, we’re covering the cost of travel and accommodation for US-based Canvanauts and their chosen support person to access abortion care in a state where it is not restricted or banned.”

Atlassian also said over the weekend it was dismayed by the decision and would help its American employees.

“Starting today, US employees living in states that have restricted or banned abortions will be offered reimbursement for travel and accommodations for themselves and a companion should they seek care outside their state. We will continue to look across the communities in which we operate to find ways to further support gender equality and help build a sustainable equitable world.”

Australian company Woodside Petroleum, which is expanding its presence in North America through a merger deal with BHP, said it was considering the impact of the Supreme Court decision on its employees and its priority was to provide support and flexibility to ensure their health and wellbeing.

A BHP spokesman said employees who need to travel interstate will be eligible for leave and reimbursed. “We are working on enhancements to our US benefits to ensure consistent access to health care irrespective of the state in which our employees live,” he said.

“Employees who need to travel interstate for family planning and reproductive care will be eligible for additional personal leave and reimbursement of travel and expenses. This reimbursement will cover expenses for the employee and their accompanying family members.”

Associate Professor Anna Boucher, a global migration and public policy expert from the University of Sydney, said it was possible that the Supreme Court decision could turn women off migrating to the US for work.

Loading

“It does seem like it could be a deterrent, absolutely. People choose countries for a whole variety of reasons. They don’t just choose them for money. We know that migrants do come [to Australia] in part because of Medicare, Medicare is a big attraction. Health and lifestyle factors are important, so you could extrapolate that that might also be true if we do a new read of the United States,” she said.

“When I looked at gender make-up in the highly skilled migration programs, we generally find that it’s predominantly men. That said, I think companies are increasingly pushing for female workers because they want more diverse workforces and there are benefits to that. So it’s possible that if those women are highly sought after and have choice, they’ll go somewhere where their reproductive rights are protected.”

Major US companies such as Meta, Disney, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have told staff they will cover employee travel expenses for abortions.