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A28 u.s. news
Diabierna 6 Mei 2022

Major companies stay mum on thorny abortion issue - for now

them — including H&M, statement. “Turning back the country.”
Slack and Glossier — signed clock on the progress women
an open letter that said re- have made over the past 50 Adamson believes that many
strictive abortion laws were years will have a seismic im- companies have held off
against their values and “bad pact on our society and econ- weighing in on the Supreme
for business.” omy.” Court’s draft because they
want to wait to see the court’s
A similar letter was signed by Many others have remained final ruling.
more than 60 companies last quiet. They include Netflix,
year in response to a Texas PayPal, Microsoft, Patagonia, “This gives companies a
law banning abortions after Target, Walmart and Apple, chance to think this through,”
roughly six weeks of preg- which is reportedly cover- he said, noting that compa-
nancy, forcing some women ing travel costs for its Texas nies need to make a decision
to travel out-of-state to access workers through its medi- based on what the majority of
the procedure. Among oth- cal insurance. Microsoft and their employees want.
ers, jeans maker Levi Strauss the Chamber of Commerce,
& Co., the online reviews site the world’s largest business Over the past few years, com-
(AP) — A leaked draft of weighed in on issues like LG- Yelp, banking giant Citigroup federation, said it had no panies have added their voic-
a Supreme Court opinion BTQ rights, voting rights and and ride-hailing company comment; the rest did not es to the Black Lives Matter
that would abolish a na- gun control, the thorny issue Lyft pledged to cover travel respond to requests for com- movement and issues like
tionwide right to abortion of abortion could prove to be costs for employees who ment. The Business Round- same-sex marriage. After the
has thrust major compa- more challenging. have to travel long distances table, which represents some Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S.
nies into what’s arguably to access an abortion. of the country’s most power- Capitol, dozens pledged to
the most divisive issue in “This is the hottest of the hot When the report of the draft ful companies, said it “does halt donations to lawmakers
American politics. potatoes,” said Allen Adam- court opinion set off a politi- not have a position on this who objected to Congress’
son, co-founder of market- cal firestorm this week, a few issue.” certification of President Joe
But while some are signaling ing consultancy Metaforce. companies issued statements Biden’s victory, promises
support for abortion rights, “While lots of issues are po- supporting abortion rights Meta, which owns Facebook that turned out to be largely
many want to stay out of it — larizing, this is ground zero but stopped short of taking and Instagram, also did not empty.
at least for now. for polarization. People are further action themselves. respond to an Associated
fanatically passionate one Press request for comment, But taking a stance on con-
Experts say it’s tough to navi- way or another.” “Overturning Roe v. Wade though its chief operating of- troversial issues is seemingly
gate these waters. Companies will jeopardize the human ficer, Sheryl Sandberg, posted becoming more challenging,
are facing increasing pressure Despite the risks, major com- rights of millions of women on her personal social media oftentimes pitting companies
from social media and their panies have waded into the who stand to lose the liberty accounts on Tuesday that the against Republican lawmak-
own employees to speak out. abortion issue in the past. to make decisions over their document represents a “scary ers who seem increasingly
And while some of them have In 2019, more than 180 of own bodies,” Yelp said in a day for women all across the eager to push back.

Ruling threatens US power as world’s high-seas drug police

(AP) — Jeffri Dávila- war on drugs: A decades-old chased down Dávila-Reyes’ A three-judge panel of the caine. In Dávila-Reyes’ case,
Reyes says he’s still mys- law that gives the U.S. broad speedboat in the western Ca- First Circuit Court of Ap- the five to 15 kilograms of
tified how he ended up authority to make arrests on ribbean in 2015, he and two peals in Boston ruled in Jan- cocaine he was convicted of
serving hard time in a U.S. the high seas anywhere in cousins who were seen fran- uary that the law’s provisions transporting were purport-
federal prison. the world, even if the drugs tically trying to dump pack- — equating a nation’s equiv- edly bound for dealers in Ja-
aren’t bound for the U.S. ages of cocaine overboard ocal response to an outright maica.
His cocaine bust at sea was identified their vessel as hail- denial of a captain’s claim of
closer to his homeland of It’s a law that helps the U.S. ing from Costa Rica, accord- nationality — were an un- Despite the ruling, Dávila-
Costa Rica than the United bolster its drug-interdiction ing to the FBI’s summary of constitutional extension of Reyes remains behind bars as
States, and the few kilos of numbers and flex its mari- the investigation. U.S. policing powers beyond the Justice Department seeks
drugs he was carrying were time muscle in a region America’s borders. reconsideration by all of the
bound for Jamaica rather where drugs are trafficked But other than the markings First Circuit’s nine judges.
than American shores. most. But since it often tar- on the boat’s side resem- Tellingly, almost none of His two co-defendants were
gets smugglers at the lowest bling Costa Rica’s flag, the those prosecuted under the released in 2018 and 2020 af-
His plight is similar to hun- rungs of the drug trade, it has men lacked any documen- law had ever set foot in the ter completing sentences of
dreds of foreigners swept yet to make a dent in the huge tation proving its national- U.S. nor were they charged around five years each.
up by the U.S. Coast Guard volumes of narcotics flowing ity. When the U.S. asked the with trying to import co-
in international waters ev- into the U.S. Costa Rican government to
ery year, most of them poor, confirm the vessel’s registry,
semiliterate fishermen from At issue is the Maritime Drug it responded 12 weeks after
Central and South America Law Enforcement Act, passed the bust that it could neither
driven to smuggling with by Congress in 1986 at the confirm nor refute the claim.
offers of more money than height of the crack epidemic.
they’ve ever seen — in Dávi- It defines drug smuggling in A few weeks later the men
la-Reyes’ case $6,000. international waters as a crime were charged and eventually
against the United States and pleaded guilty to possessing
“Nobody can be blamed for gives the U.S. unique law en- narcotics “on board a vessel
being born poor,” he wrote in forcement powers anywhere subject to the jurisdiction of
a recent letter to The Associ- on the seas — whenever it the United States.”
ated Press. determines a vessel is “with-
out nationality.” The conviction would have
But now, seven years into gone unnoticed if not for a
his 10-year sentence, Dávila- But how a vessel is deemed challenge brought by a group
Reyes’ conviction has been stateless sometimes gets of dedicated public defenders
thrown out in a little-noticed messy. in Puerto Rico, where many
ruling that threatens a key of the drug cases are tried.
weapon in the United States’ When the Coast Guard