Bumble, Match pledge to support people seeking abortions in Texas
The leaders of two of the country's largest dating apps have pledged to support those affected by the new law in Texas restricting access to abortion.
Bumble, which is headquartered in Austin, tweeted Thursday that the company created a relief fund "supporting the reproductive rights of women and people across the gender spectrum who seek abortions in Texas."
"Bumble is women-founded and women-led, and from day one we've stood up for the most vulnerable," the company wrote. "We'll keep fighting against regressive laws like #SB8."
Meanwhile, Match Group Inc.'s chief executive officer Shar Dubey wrote in an internal memo to employees that the company, which is based in Dallas, would create a fund to cover costs for employees and their dependents who needed to travel out of state for reproductive care, Bloomberg reported. Match Group Inc. owns a portfolio of dating platforms including Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid and Hinge.
Match "generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business," Dubey wrote, according to Bloomberg. "But this particular law is so regressive to the cause of women's rights that I felt compelled to speak publicly about my personal views."
"I have to say, as a Texas resident, I am shocked that I now live in a state where women's reproductive laws are more regressive than most of the world," she added.
In a 5-4 vote Wednesday, the Supreme Court formally rejected a request from Texas abortion providers to block the state's law restricting abortion access amid legal challenges. As a result, most abortions in Texas are now illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they're pregnant. Furthermore, the law allows private citizens to sue anyone they believe is providing an illegal abortion or helping someone obtain one.
Mallory Quigley, the vice president of communications of the Susan B. Anthony List, a group opposed to abortion, praised what she called "pioneer legislation."
"We're incredibly hopeful and encouraged by the fact that the Supreme Court is allowing the law to remain in effect while litigation continues," she told ABC News. "This is a message we want to take to voters about the differences between the two sides."
But President Joe Biden said in a statement that the decision "unleashes constitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts," and that the law will "significantly impair women's access to the health care they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes."
"This law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest. And it not only empowers complete strangers to inject themselves into the most private of decisions made by a woman -- it actually incentivizes them to do so with the prospect of $10,000 if they win their case," he continued. "For the majority to do this without a hearing, without the benefit of an opinion from a court below, and without due consideration of the issues, insults the rule of law and the rights of all Americans to seek redress from our courts."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that Biden would be "eager" to sign a bill that solidifies the right to an abortion as federal law.
More than 6 in 10 Americans say they agree with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision establishing a woman's right to an abortion, according to a Quinnipiac poll from May. Quinnipiac said that that statistic has remained consistent in the nearly two decades the company has polled on the issue.
ABC News' Libby Cathey, Quinn Scanlan and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
