Lyft and Uber will pay royalties to drivers. Drivers who deliver passengers to check-in can be held liable under the Texas abortion law.
Royalties pay: The new law, signed this week by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, bans abortion after six weeks. That is before many women know they are pregnant. And makes no exceptions for rape or incest. The law also empowers individuals across the country to sue anyone for “aiding and abetting.”
An abortion after 6 weeks, including clinics, anyone paying for an abortion, or even those who bring someone in for a procedure.
Introducing new policy – paying royalties to drivers
“This is an attack on women’s access to health care and their choices,” Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green wrote Friday afternoon.
Right on @logangreen – drivers shouldn’t be put at risk for getting people where they want to go. Team @Uber is in too and will cover legal fees in the same way. Thanks for the push. https://t.co/85LhOUctSc
— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) September 3, 2021
Green said Lyft is setting up a motorist legal protection fund to cover 100% of legal costs if companies on its platform get sue under the new law. He said Lyft is also donating $1 million to Planned Parenthood to ensure that transportation never becomes a barrier to access to healthcare.
Shortly thereafter, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a tweet that his company “Los Rivers [D] shouldn’t. I don’t use this,” he wrote. Uber will similarly cover legal costs, he said, referring to Green’s tweet. By the way, thanks for the push.
Texas abortion law
TX SB8 threatens to punish drivers for taking people where they need to go, especially women exercising their right to choose. The company has established a Driver’s Legal Defense Fund.
It covers 100% of the legal costs of motorists suing SB8 while driving on our platform. It is an attack on women’s access to health care and their choice. Lyft is donating $1 million to Planned Parenthood to ensure transportation never becomes a barrier to access to healthcare. We encourage other companies to join us.
The Uber and Lyft announcement came after the Bumble and Match Group (owner of Tinder) announced a fund to help Match Group CEO Charles. In an internal memo received by Reuters, Dubey says the company “usually does not hold political positions unless it is related to our business.”
But in this case, personally, as a woman from Texas, I cannot remain silent. Both companies are based in Texas. But pressure on Texas businesses to operate this weekend has intensified.
It was just after a conservative majority in the Supreme Court (other than Chief Justice John Roberts) refuses to step in and overturn the restrictive law. Evan Greer., the only company that announced this Fight for the Future’s digital rights group director, told Protocol this week.
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