A 20-year-old college student in upstate New York reported an Uber driver for refusing to take her to get an abortion. According to the women’s account, which was reported on by Yahoo! Style (UK), the ride-sharing company canned the pro-lifer.
But now the woman is looking to take legal against the driver.
“I’m in college in upstate NY and I don’t have a car on campus because it’s expensive,” she wrote in a message posted to Reddit earlier this month.
“I’m 20 years old and I found out I was pregnant and subsequently decided I wanted an abortion because I’m in no position to care for a child,” the woman said.
She found a clinic about an hour from her university, because the nearby Planned Parenthood had a schedule that didn’t work for her. “Because I don’t have a car, I rely on Uber and [L]yft to get me places,” she said.
The student then recounted her interaction with the Uber driver, who attempted to dissuade the woman from choosing abortion before telling her he could not drive her to the clinic.
“My appointment was at 11:30am so at 9:58am my Uber arrived and he immediately seemed uncomfortable. After about five minutes in the car, he asked, ‘are we going to a planned parenthood?’ I said no (because we weren’t), but it set off alarm bells that he would even ask that,” she recounted. “The destination I put in was just the name of the doctor and the address of the clinic, there was nothing that would suggest it was an abortion clinic. After a few more minutes he asked, ‘are we going to an abortion clinic?’”
“I was shocked,” the student continued. “I had no idea what to say, so I just remained quiet. He then said ‘I know it’s none of my business, but…' and proceeded to mention something about his wife being pregnant, how awful the procedure was (and proceeded to explain it in graphic detail), and that ‘there is so much they don’t tell you’. He then said ‘you’re going to regret this decision for the rest of your life’ and that I was making a mistake.”
At about halfway to the clinic, the woman said, the driver “suddenly pulls over with no warning.”
“He said ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t take you the rest of the way. I can take you back to [my city], but you won’t be able to find another Uber out here,’” the post read.
The woman said she finally got ahold of her boyfriend, who advised her to call the clinic and inform them she’d be late. (What a great guy.)
“I got out of the car and immediately started crying,” the student wrote. “I called my parents each three times but they didn’t pick up. Then I called my boyfriend and he picked up right away. He managed to calm me down and told me to let the clinic know what was happening and to call some local cab companies.”
The driver then “hung around for about 10-15 minutes and asked once more if I wanted to go back with him,” she said, but noted that she “declined.”
“After he left, a cab came and I got to my appointment (an hour late),” the post read.
The driver, who otherwise had good reviews from patrons, was fired after the woman filed a report against him.
“I reported the driver to Uber and the next day I filed a police report with my city’s police department. Someone on Uber’s team got in touch with me after I told them about the police report and called me to get a detailed account of what happened,” she said. “I told them everything on a call that was recorded, and the rep mentioned that it appeared the driver had taken a less direct route to get me to my destination prior to dropping me off.”
“Within a few days they reached out again and told me the driver had been banned from Uber,” the woman added.
But the driver being fired was not enough: “However, I’d like to pursue further legal action against the driver if at all possible. Do I have a case? What should my next steps be?” she asked via Reddit.
“I reached out to a law firm and a few legal aid societies but nothing has happened. I’m not sure what I should do now,” the woman said.
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