* Bloomberg…
Eli Lilly & Co., one of Indiana’s largest employers, said the state’s freshly passed restrictions on abortion would force the drug maker to “plan for more employment growth outside our home state.”
A growing list of companies, including Citigroup Inc., Apple Inc., Bumble Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co., are offering benefits for reproductive-care services in states that have imposed restrictions. But Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly’s announcement marks a swift escalation by a multinational that employs 10,000 people in Indiana, where the drug maker was founded in 1876.
* The company’s full statement…
* Terry Cosgrove at Personal PAC…
Good for them.
More corporations need to be following Lilly out of states with laws that put the health and lives of women at risk.
We’d gladly welcome Eli Lilly to Illinois, a state that respects women and trusts them to make medical decisions for themselves.
* Some more context…
Lilly has had somewhat of a complicated relationship with its native state lately. Earlier this year, the company’s CEO David Ricks criticized the state in a speech before the Economic Club of Indiana, stating, “[o]ur education attainment in the state is not good.”
“The ability to reskill the workforce, I think, could improve,” he added at the event. “Health, life and inclusion, overall, I think, conditions rank poorly nationally in our state. And also workforce preparedness, also related to reskilling, is a liability for us,” Ricks said.
At the same time, Ricks noted Indiana’s healthcare costs exceed those of neighboring states, which makes the Hoosier State unattractive to potential employers.
Still, one month later, Lilly laid out $2.1 billion to erect two new manufacturing sites in Indiana’s Boone County, with plans to add 500 new jobs along the way.
* And Lilly isn’t the only one…
Cummins, an engine manufacturing company headquartered in Columbus, Ind., has nearly 10,000 employees in the state. It has said it opposes the law.
“Cummins believes that women should have the right to make reproductive healthcare decisions as a matter of gender equity,” spokesperson Jon Mills told NPR. “The right to make decisions regarding reproductive health ensures that women have the same opportunity as others to participate fully in our workforce and that our workforce is diverse.”
Mills said parts of the law conflict with the company’s beliefs and will “impede our ability to attract and retain top talent and influence our decisions as we continue to grow our footprint with a focus on selecting welcoming and inclusive environments.”
* PPIA on the Indiana legislation…
Statement attributed to Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action:
“We are outraged that the Indiana General Assembly has banned most abortions, denying Indiana residents access to essential health care. This dangerous ban is another devastating blow for the Midwest, which is quickly becoming a vast desert for abortion care. Now people in Indiana are forced to either travel to a state like Illinois for care, seek an alternative means of ending their pregnancy or remain pregnant against their will.
I want to be clear, abortion is still safe and legal in Illinois and will remain that way. Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) has been preparing for the overturning of Roe and subsequent state bans for years and has taken active steps to meet increasing demand. PPIL opened a new health center in Flossmoor, near the Indiana border, in 2018, in anticipation that our neighbors would likely lose abortion access after the fall of Roe. The Flossmoor health center has already seen its out-of-state abortion patients triple in the weeks following the SCOTUS ruling in June.
This is clear evidence that abortion restrictions and bans do not stop people from having abortions; restrictions and bans only make it harder for people to access safe reproductive health care where they live. While Indiana used its special session to take away a person’s right to abortion care, in Illinois we look forward to further protecting and expanding abortion access in order to meet this rising patient surge so people can access the abortion care they need and deserve, no matter who they are or where they live.”
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz…
Illinois won’t necessarily try to grab the headquarters, though that would be nice. But given Illinois’ competitive cost of living compared to other big states that might make a pitch (like New York and California) and its talent advantage over Indiana, a fairly large investment here is potentially within reach, my source says. […]
“The Governor is in regular contact with numerous business leaders, both in Illinois and nationally, to discuss Illinois’ competitive strengths—including the fact that we have enshrined reproductive rights into law while others are stripping them away,” his spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, said in a statement. […]
Sources also report that some Chicago developers, who have been busily adding lab space in the city designed to appeal to biopharma companies, have reached out to Lilly on their own.
The bottom line: It’s a lot easier to set up, say, a new research center just over the border than it would be on the other side of the country.
