Why the C.E.O. Behind Match.com and Tinder Took a Stand on the Texas Abortion Law
On February 15, 2015, Dan Cathy, head of the world’s largest social networking company, Chick-fil-A, penned an op-ed for the National Review explaining why he and the company would continue to oppose laws that allow for abortion.
“I’m grateful that Chick-fil-A will carry on our proud tradition of being a haven for the protection of human life from conception,” Cathy wrote. “This doesn’t give us license to promote a lifestyle contrary to the views of many of our local community members. Nor does it mean that we endorse every act of violence against innocent human life.” Cathy went on to explain that Chick-fil-A opposes any laws that “restrict the free exercise of your freedom of religion,” and explained that it “will seek in time to find a proper way to separate our two religions, and we may someday do so.”
Chick-fil-A’s anti-abortion stance did not sit well with the Texas Legislature, however. After the company expressed its belief in the life of the unborn, the Texas state’s House of Representatives passed House Bill 2, which became law by a vote of 73-23. The bill allowed for a variety of exceptions—that is, exemptions that allowed for abortion in some cases. This was a significant change to abortion laws, which had allowed abortion to be technically legal without a physician’s license.
“It’s not legal to do anything in Texas except have an abortion,” Cathy stated in an interview on CNN. “That’s it,” he continued. “They can go ahead and have an abortion.”
Dan Cathy took a risk in making his anti-abortion stance clear, and it was an act that has gained him praise from far and wide. “My biggest regret is not having been bold enough to tell more of our supporters’ story,” he wrote. “Had I said more about what I’ve learned over the years, from my own experiences, and
