TEXAS — Opinions about Texas’ new, highly restrictive abortion law remain sharply divided. Now, one governor is using backlash created by the law to attempt to lure the CEOs of some of the most high-profile Texas-based corporations away.
According to POLITCO, Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote to the CEOs of Texas businesses including Dell, Oracle, Hewlett Packard and others encouraging a relocation to the Prairie State.
“So as radical legislators in Texas functionally eradicate the autonomy of half the state, cutting off their access to basic health care, family planning, and the freedom to thrive, I invite you to consider a new home base for your company – one that embraces the policies of the 21st century and aligns with your company’s values to ensure women succeed,” Pritzker wrote in a letter to Oracle CEO Safra Catz and others.
Texas’ newly passed Heartbeat Act bans abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in a fetus. In many instances that’s as soon as six weeks into pregnancy, often before most women know they’re pregnant.
The law went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for a stay from abortion providers. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the law.
“Your company is at a crossroads: you can go where the country is going, or you can stay in a state that strips its residents of their dignity,” Pritzker continued. “If I’m a bright and ambitions mind deciding where to plant my career, my family, my life – the choice is clear.”
Pritzker concluded by taking a swipe at Texas’ voting bill that will take effect in a few months. Among other things, it bans 24-hour and drive-thru voting.
‘Illinois welcomes you – we’ll even greet you with same-day voter registration,” he wrote.