According to the latest news, on their respective platforms, Lyft and Uber are committing to pay legal fees for any driver who gets sued under Texas’ controversial anti-abortion law. This week, the so called law was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The law bans abortions of fetuses after six weeks and offers no exceptions for rape or incest.
The law empowers private citizens across the country to sue anyone for “aiding and abetting” abortions past the six week mark including clinics, anyone paying for abortion, and people driving someone to the procedure.
Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green tweeted Friday afternoon “This is an attack on women’s access to healthcare and on their right to choose.” Green said Lyft is creating a “driver legal defense fund” to cover 100 percent of legal fees if drivers on its platform get sued under the new law. Green also said Lyft is also donating $1 million to Planned Parenthood to “ensure that transportation is never a barrier to healthcare access.”
After Lyft’s announcements, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced in a tweet that his company would follow suit. Dara wrote, “Drivers shouldn’t be put at risk for getting people to where they want to go”. Dara quoted Green’s tweet and posted “Uber will cover legal fees in the same way. Thanks for the push.”
Uber and Lyft announced these after Bumble and Match Group announced the creation of a relief fund for women seeking abortions. Match Group CEO Shar Dubey said in an internal memo that the company “generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business. But in this instance, I personally, as a woman in Texas, could not keep silent.”
