TOPLINE Two of the most popular dating apps in the U.S., Match and Bumble, are kickstarting funds to help Texans access abortion services in the wake of a controversial new anti-abortion law that effectively bans the procedure after six weeks, before many have realized they’re pregnant.
KEY FACTS
CEO Shar Dubey, whose Match Group Inc. operates Match.com, the largest dating site in the country, told employees Thursday in an internal memo that she has set up a fund for workers affected by the new legislation.
The Dallas-based company’s fund will help cover costs for workers and their dependents who need to travel out-of-state in order to have an abortion, Dubey said in the memo first reported by Bloomberg.
Austin-based Bumble, the second-most downloaded dating apps in the U.S., announced Wednesday it would launch a fund to support people trying to access abortion services in Texas.
Bumble said that the company will lend its support in fighting Texas’ new abortion legislation, which it called “regressive” in a statement.
TANGENT
With its low taxes and affordability, Texas bills itself as a business-friendly state and has attracted companies like Tesla, Apple, Oracle and Hewlett Packard to either open offices or relocate to the state. A recent poll indicates Texas may lose out on skilled workers over the state’s new restriction abortion policy. According to a PerryUndem poll released this week, two-thirds of workers with college educations said they would not take a job in a state that bars abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, like Texas’ new law effectively does.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“I immigrated to America from India over 25 years ago … 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,” Dubey said in the memo Thursday. “Surely everyone should see the danger of this highly punitive and unfair law … I would hate for our state to take this big step back in women’s rights.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Texas’ new abortion legislation was signed into law by Gov. Greb Abbott in May, but did not take effect until Wednesday. The law bans abortion after what the bill interprets as signs of a fetal heartbeat are detected, which can be picked up at about six weeks using a vaginal ulstrasound. However, medical experts dispute that what ultrasounds pick up that early into a pregnancy is actually a heartbeat, saying it’s more likely the twitching of tissue that will later develop into a heart as it’s “electronically induced” by the ultrasound machine.” Banning abortion after six weeks, before many people realize they’re pregnant, will make about 85% of abortions ineligible under the new Texas law, experts say. The legislation allows private citizens enforce the law by suing anyone involved in helping procure an abortion in civil court for up to $10,000. Abortion is a safe and common medical procedure that nearly one in four women will undergo before turning 45, according to a 2017 study from the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice think tank.
FURTHER READING
Texas Now Has The Most Restrictive Abortion Law In The U.S.—Here’s What Could Happen Next (Forbes)
By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff