Lyft And Uber Say They’ll Cover Legal Fees For Drivers Sued In Texas Over SB8

@lyft/Twitter

September 5, 2021, 9:08 am

On Friday, both Uber and Lyft stated they’d be covering and fees incurred by drivers who would potentially be sued under Texas’s new SB8 law, which allows private citizens to accuse people of aiding and abetting illegal abortions. That includes anyone giving somebody a ride to a clinic, which a rideshare driver could unwittingly do. Or, perhaps do with total awareness. Either way, they’d be culpable under the new, widely-reviled ‘fetal heartbeat‘ law.

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“We want to be clear: Drivers are never responsible for monitoring where their riders go or why. Imagine being a driver and not knowing if you are breaking the law by giving someone a ride,” Lyft said in a statement. “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.”

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Then Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi added on to Lyft’s statement by responding to CEO of Lyft, saying, “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.”

Lyft has also said they will be donating $1 million to Planned Parenthood. Their defense fund will cover 100% of any litigation:

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

SB8 makes it illegal to have an abortion after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks. The earliest most people can know they’re pregnant is four weeks, after one missed period. But periods fluctuate and the logistics of setting up an abortion in a state like Texas could easily take far longer than those two weeks after suspecting you might be pregnant.

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The law is obviously an attempt to negate the constitutional right to bodily autonomy guaranteed by Roe V. Wade. Lyft and Uber are not angel companies, but this public pushback might be a sign to Texas that big, money-making companies will not be supporting them in their agenda. They do care about money in the Lone Star state.

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*First Published: September 5, 2021, 9:08 am