“Our chairman and CEO, John Zimmer and Logan Green, contacted us and said,‘ What can we do about it? ” Lift (LIFT) General Counsel Kristin Sverchek told CNN’s Poppy Harlow on Monday. “Very quickly, we decided we wanted to act.”
The company had begun hearing drivers worried about the possibility of being sued under the new law. Texas law prohibits abortion providers from performing abortions once the heartbeat of the fetus has been detected, as early as six weeks of pregnancy. It also allows people to take civil action against anyone, not just medical providers, who “helps or incites” a restricted abortion, which according to legal experts could include car-sharing drivers who give access to an abortion procedure to a person, potentially the driver knows what is going on.
“We both wanted to stand up for a woman’s right to choose and make our drivers feel good,” Sverchek said. “We didn’t want them to be in that unsustainable position for not knowing if their behavior was okay or not.”
Friday, Green, CEO of Lyft,
announced that the company would create a legal defense fund to protect drivers sued under the law for driving a person who had an abortion. Soon after,
Uber (UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi followed suit and said her company would provide similar protections to its drivers.
Rideshare companies are among a list of other companies that have backed down against the law; they also include Match Group, whose CEO said he would start a fund to help employees access out-of-state abortion care if needed, and GoDaddy, a web hosting service that withdrew a website which allowed people to post tips on possible abortions in Texas.
In the days following the enactment of Texas law, Republican-controlled state leaders have already indicated they could try to introduce similar legislation.
Lyver plans to provide similar financial support to drivers from other states in case similar laws apply elsewhere, Sverchek said. The company has also said it will donate $ 1 million to Planned Parenthood.
Sverchek called on the rest of corporate America to take a stand against the legislation and said Lyft decided to take action despite knowing that “we will lose some customers for it.”
“Abortion is a constitutionally protected right, and that’s why I’m thrilled to see us here taking a voice and I hope more corporate companies do,” he said. “Now, having said that, governments should also pass fair legislation and not try to inappropriately ban a constitutional right as they have it here. But I think it’s important for the corporate United States to hold the government accountable and rule on important issues “.
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