In response to Texas passing S.B. 8 or the Heartbeat Act that bans abortion after six weeks in the state, the popular dating app OKCupid has taken a firmer pro-abortion stance. This week, it introduced a new feature on its app that lets users discriminate against pro-life potential matches with a banner that says "I'm Pro-Choice."
OKCupid took to their official blog this week to announce that users can now adopt the "I'm Pro-Choice" banner on their profile right alongside their name, age, location, religious beliefs, political beliefs, educational background, and more. The new feature also lets users filter to search only for other profiles that identify as pro-choice.
"Given the new, radical Texas law that essentially bans abortion access, it's more important than ever to take a stand and we've found that our users want to be able to choose to filter for dates who are pro-choice more than they ever have before," OKCupid wrote on their blog, as reported by the Daily Mail. The dating app also presented some statistics surrounding abortion issues.
According to OKCupid, it saw an 18% increase in users showing "pro-choice" on their profiles this summer than last and that there has been a 4% increase in users who believe Planned Parenthood should not be defunded by the government. Only less than 9% of its users who were surveyed believe that Planned Parenthood should be defunded. Moreover, 88% of users who answered the question "Are you pro-choice?" answered yes, with 87% of men and 89% of women confirming so.
Specifically in Texas, 87% of men and 95% of women who answered the question "Are you pro-choice?" said yes and mentioned "Planed Parenthood supportrer" in their profiles. OKCupid added that for every user who adds the "I'm Pro-Choice" banner to their profile, the company will pledge $1 to Planned Parenthood. It has already committed to donating $50,000 to the nation's largest abortion provider.
"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," Shar Dubey, CEO of OKCupid's parent company Match Group, decried Texas' anti-abortion law, Input Mag reported. "Surely everyone should see the danger of this highly punitive and unfair law that doesn't even make an exception for victims of rape or incest."
Dubey also reportedly established her own support fund for Match Group employees in Texas who needed to seek abortion care out-of-state. OKCupid is one of several Big Tech giants who have spoken ouit against anti-abortion laws as of late.
According to Faithwire, this is not the first time OKCupid had shown its preference to leftist users and views. In fact, it had previously suggested that users with leftist views would more likely attract partners. In 2009, it even went as far as suggesting that users should consider being an atheist to attract more partners, publishing a blog that suggested, "paradoxically, it helps you most if you have no religion."
