Lyft announces a fund to support drivers sued under Texas abortion law
By Yashasvini on Sep 04, 2021 | 05:34 AM IST
Ride-hailing firm, Lyft announced that it would cover legal fees for drivers on its platform who are sued under Texas’ restrictive abortion law that went into effect this week.
A Texas law bans most abortions after about six weeks of
pregnancy. It went into effect this Wednesday despite the Supreme Court’s
decision that established a constitutional right to the procedure.
The law may not necessarily allow patients to be sued under
it, but people assisting the procedure, including doctors, people paying for
the procedure, and clinic workers are at risk. That includes rideshare drivers
who can be punished for transporting women to clinics to receive abortions,
where they could be fined $10,000.
In a press release, the company said that drivers were not
liable to monitor where their riders go or for what reason. “Imagine being a
driver and not knowing if you are breaking the law by giving someone a ride.
Similarly, riders never have to justify, or even share, where they are going
and why. Imagine being a pregnant woman trying to get to a healthcare
appointment and not knowing if your driver will cancel on you for fear of
breaking a law. Both are completely unacceptable,” it stated.
Lyft has created a Driver Legal Defense Fund to cover 100%
of legal fees for its drivers sued under the Texas abortion law.
The company stated that the law was an attack on women’s
right to choose. The ride-hailing firm is donating $1 million to Planned
Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care in the
United States and globally.
While most businesses are choosing to stay mum about the
Texas abortion law, companies such as Bumble and Match, which are Texas-based dating companies’, announced
relief funds. CEO Shar Dubey announced in a memo to employees that she would
personally create a fund to support Texas-based workers and dependents who
needed to seek care outside of the state.
(With inputs from CNBC)
Picture Credits: Getty Images