How we did it in the olden days

[susandennis]

Starbucks has now joined the admirably growing list of corporations who will reimburse employees for expenses incurred if they have to travel out of state for an abortion. I'm sorry this may be required but I'm so delighted to see corporations step up to the plate.

In the mid 70's, I went to work for IBM. I was young and eager. I was, actually, the first female sales rep hired in my branch office. (The first black sales rep was hired just before me.)

At the time IBM was known for it's amazingly fabulous benefits - health and otherwise. So when I discovered that those fabulous health benefits did not cover birth control pills or IUD's (which were really the only two options at the time). I was shocked and then so pissed.

I dug around on and off for a while and found out that those fabulous benefits did cover abortion.

Soooooo the only form of birth control that IBM - a pillar - for years topping best employer lists everywhere - paid for was abortion.

I left IBM for other reasons after a couple of years and then went back to work for them again in 1982. The situation was the same except now, they added in another option.

They paid for me to have my tubes tied.

IBM was actually a great company to work for and I owe them much. But even the best bananas can have a bruise.

Comments

[bill_schubert]

This is one of those things that LJ had that DW does not. I can't leave a heart that I've read the post and don't, IMHO have much standing to comment. Makes me wonder what Prudential had. I should have asked.

[susandennis]

i totally agree on the heart thing. i'm guess Prudential covered all but I would have guessed that about IBM so who knows?

[vysila]

They didn't pay for birth control pills back in the day? I really am surprised. But LOL that they did cover abortion - strange rules indeed.

[adafrog]

Interesting they would pay for abortion over birth control. Although, at that time, maybe it was so much harder to get an abortion.

[susandennis]

Oh that's an interesting point. At the time, it was really hard to find a doctor who would prescribe birth control to a woman with no children. Unmarried women had an informal network where we learned about doctors who would consider giving us a prescription. I also once had my prescription rejected by a drug store because I was unmarried. Abortions were difficult because no one talked about them so info was a bitch to come by.

It was not a great time for sex. :)

[richaarde]

Interesting that they covered abortion but not birth control, especially since I have to imagine the latter is less expensive to cover.

[msconduct]

I didn't realise it worked that way. I assumed that in the US your employer pays for you to join a standard scheme, not that they dictate the terms of the cover. Come to think of it, I suppose that's what the Hobby Lobby thing was about. YUCK.

[susandennis]

And things like that were vastly different back then anyway. Ibm had its own scheme

[dadi]

Whew. That sure is weird. Did they ever give a reason for not covering BC?

[susandennis]

no. it was pretty much understood that women were supposed to have babies and preventing that was not acceptable.

[dadi]

UGH.

[sleepybadger]

I was born in the 70s and I am sometimes shocked at how much womens' rights have changed just in my own lifetime (and now, how quickly they can be yanked away).