Montgomery County, Md., officials have invited companies based in states with restrictive abortion laws to relocate their headquarters to the Washington, D.C., area, WTTG reported Aug. 4.
The county sent letters to Louisville, Ky.-based Humana and St. Louis-based Centene, which are both located in states where abortion is now banned. Companies that relocate may receive financial incentives, according to WTTG.
HCA Healthcare in Nashville, Tenn., and Cerner in North Kansas City, Mo., were also sent letters. Non-healthcare companies that received letters and are based in Texas include Tesla, Match Group, Dell Technologies, AT&T and Hewlett-Packard.
The county, which borders D.C., has struggled with attracting business due to complicated zoning laws, but sees an opportunity to attract companies because of the state's non-restrictive abortion laws.
The move comes as healthcare companies located in abortion-restrictive states, such as pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly in Indiana, have said they will look for growth opportunities elsewhere to continue attracting the best employee talent.
"If there's a chance that a company leader is exploring a move out of their state, we want to make sure that they know that Montgomery County is a place they can come to where we do value a woman's right to choose and are generally very welcoming and open to a diverse population," Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich told WTTG.