The CEO of Match.com and the company behind dating app Bumble have set up abortion ‘relief funds’ to help women to have abortions in response to Texas’ new abortion law.
Bumble, a dating app based in Austin, Texas, which also owns dating service Badoo, has spoken out against the new law that aims to protect babies from the point at which a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks of pregnancy. The company has set up a ‘relief fund’ to help women wanting abortions in the state. In a tweet the company said:
“Bumble is women-founded and women-led, and from day one we’ve stood up for the most vulnerable. We’ll keep fighting against regressive laws like #SB8”.
Other dating platforms have followed suit. Shar Dubey, CEO of the Match Group, announced that she would personally create a fund to help women access abortion outside of the state. The Match Group owns a number of dating platforms including its own namesake, Match.com and the dating apps Hinge, Tinder and Plenty of Fish (a full list of services they own is provided at the end of this article).
“As I have said before, the company generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business. But in this instance, I personally, as a woman in Texas, could not keep silent”, Dubey said in a memo to employees at the company.
Video game industry CEO forced to step down
The dating industry is not alone in its support for abortion. John Gibson had to step down as the CEO of Tripwire Interactive after he signalled his support for the new abortion law.
Gibson said in a tweet: “Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer”.
After two days of criticism from abortion supporters within the company and outside, Mr Gibson stepped down and the company has distanced himself from his comments saying:
“The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company”.
Pro-life boycott
In 2019, the state of Georgia tried to introduce pro-life legislation and video streaming giant, Netflix, committed to help fund a legal challenge to this law.
Pro-lifers across the world boycotted Netflix in response.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “We should commend Gibson for his bravery. Despite the climate in which we live that punishes people for thinking differently, he stood up for unborn lives and is now paying the price”.
“Bumble claims to stand ‘for the most vulnerable’, but given its explicit advocacy and funding of abortion, these words ring extremely hollow. Abortion is a direct attack on the most vulnerable, at least half of which are vulnerable girls”..
Full list of dating services owned by Match group
- Ablo
- Amourex
- Black People Meet
- BLK
- Chispa
- Disons Demain
- Hawaya (formerly Harmonica)
- Hinge
- Lexa.nl
- Love Scout 24
- Match.com
- Meetic
- neu.de
- OkCupid
- OurTime
- Pairs
- ParPerfeito
- Plenty of Fish
- Ship
- Tinder
- Twoo
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