Lyft and Uber Take a Stand Against Texas’s Abortion Ban

Ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft have spoken out against recent restrictive Texas abortion law, SB8, passed early this month. Both companies promised to pay all of their driver’s legal fees if the driver was to be sued under the new ban, along with Lyft’s pledge of a $1 million donation to Planned Parenthood. 

The involvement of these companies in such a heated issue sets a precedent for the actions of other companies and demonstrates monumental support for women’s reproductive rights. Uber and Lyft took the chance of isolating a portion of riders, drivers and sales to publish a statement demonstrating their core values in an era where consumers expect increased moral responsibility – and it paid off.

Following Uber and Lyft’s announcements, dating platform Bumble announced a plan to set up funds to assist Texas-based employees seeking out-of-state abortion care. In addition, website hosting service GoDaddy, shut down a Texas anti-abortion website that allowed people to report suspected abortions.

It is vital for corporations to take a stand against unconstitutional and inhumane actions such as Texas’s SB8 ban. They have a job not only to protect their employees, but demonstrate the ethics and mission of their company. Lyft immediately showed compassion and solidarity to both women and drivers stating that the ban was, “an attack on women’s access to healthcare and their right to choose.” 

SB8 is in the hands of private citizens to enforce rather than the government. It gives private citizens the right to sue any individual who knowingly aide a woman through the process of abortion, including doctors, clinic workers, and yes, even drivers transporting a woman to the clinic. 

Not only does SB8 allow a private citizen to sue any individual who violates the ban – encourages them to. According to the New York Times, if the lawsuit ends in a success, the plaintiff will receive $10,000 cash. A plaintiff will have no limit on how many lawsuits they can file. The law allows them to continuously sue individuals and collect the cash if the case is settled in their favor. 

Texas’s law establishes an almost total ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, when cardiac activity is first detected, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Six weeks is extremely early, as many women have no knowledge they are pregnant at this stage. According to an article in the New York Times, abortion providers estimate 85% of patients seeking abortions are at least six weeks pregnant.

Lyft’s outspoken and generous acts then created a chain reaction. Logan Green invited other companies to join the pledge and Uber was quick to follow in his footsteps,as Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshah tweeted in response to Green. 

“Team @Uber is in too and will cover legal fees in the same way. Thanks for the push.” 

Uber and Lyft took a necessary stance against the Texas Abortion law, supporting a woman’s right to choose as well as the freedom for drivers, clinic workers and women’s healthcare workers to aid women in making that choice. Companies and corporations using their platform to spread awareness of such an inadmissible bill promotes their customers in doing the same.

Ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft have spoken out against recent restrictive Texas abortion law, SB8, passed early this month. Source: Unsplash user Dan Gold