5 Publicly Traded Companies That Are Pushing Back Against Texas Anti Abortion Law

A new law put into effect in Texas will make it illegal to get an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The rule has been a strongly contested topic across the country and is leading to some companies speaking out against the law and raising money.

What Happened: SB8 makes it illegal for a woman in Texas to get an abortion after six weeks. Private citizens can be sued for $10,000 if they are found to aid and abet any woman who gets an abortion after the six-week window.

Lyft: Ride share company Lyft Inc LYFT announced on Friday that it will cover 100% of legal fees for any of its drivers sued under the new abortion law.

Lyft CEO Logan Green announced on Twitter that the company would support its drivers.

Lyft announced along with the setting up of the legal fund, the company would donate $1 million to Planned Parenthood.

Green called the legal fund and donation important to “ensure that transportation is never a barrier to healthcare access.

The new TX law #SB8 is incompatible with people’s basic rights to privacy, our community guidelines, the spirit of rideshare, and our values as a company. A message from our founders: https://t.co/nG3OV1XSVt

— Lyft (@lyft) September 3, 2021

Lyft shares were down 2% Friday.

Uber: Ride share company Uber Technologies UBER announced it would follow the lead set by Lyft and its CEO. Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared the tweet from Lyft CEO Logan Green and said it would also provide legal fee assistance for any of its drivers sued under the new law.

“Drivers shouldn’t be put at risk for getting people where they want to go,” Khosrowshahi said.

Uber shares were down 3% Friday.

Bumble: Dating app company Bumble Inc BMBL is creating a special fund to help people affected by the new abortion ban.

Bumble will support organizations that support reproductive rights with the new fund.

“Bumble has created a relief fund supporting the reproductive rights of women and people across the gender spectrum who seek abortions in Texas,” the company said in a statement.

Bumble shares closed up 4% on Friday.

Match: The leader of dating app company Match Group Inc MTCH, which owns Match and Tinder, spoke out against the new abortion law.

“I immigrated to America from India over 25 years ago and I have to say, as a Texas resident, I am shocked that I now live in a state where women’s reproductive laws are more regressive than most of the world, including India,” Match Group CEO Shar Dubey said.

Dubey sent a note to employees Thursday night saying she was speaking about the issue personally as a mother and woman and not as a company CEO.

Dubey set up a similar fund to provide aid to Match employees in Texas. Match said the fund is independently funded by the company and led by its CEO. 

Match shares closed up 1% Friday and gained another 10% after hours on news of an inclusion in the S&P 500 Index.

GoDaddy: Website building and hosting company GoDaddy Inc GDDY told a Texas Right to Life whistleblowing website that it would no longer support the company’s inclusion on its web hosting platform.

GoDaddy gave the website 24 hours to find a new home. The whistleblower website was set up to allow people to provide tips on those who had aided and abetted women getting abortions.

“We have informed prolifewhistleblower.com they have 24 hours to move to another provider for violating our terms of service,” a GoDaddy spokesperson told The Verge.

GoDaddy has banned other controversial sites in the past.

GoDaddy shares traded flat on Friday.