LGBTQIA+ dating app Grindr jumps into lobbying on healthcare issues

Considering that reproductive rights are one of the hot-button healthcare issues in the 2024 presidential election cycle, LGBTQIA+ dating app Grindr is jumping into the lobbying fold in Washington, DC.

Grindr has hired The Daschle Group to lobby on several fronts: HIV prevention, as well as LGBTQIA+ family formation challenges, including surrogacy and in vitro fertilisation, according to federal disclosures.

According to its website, The Daschle Group is a lobbying firm founded by former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to provide strategic counsel, political intelligence, advocacy, and media consulting services to its clients.

The lobbying group will focus on issues underscored in the Grindr for Equality initiative, which spans LGBTQIA+ safety and sexual health.

In addition to its dating services, Grindr also provides community resources about HIV prevention, such as educating its users about DoxyPEP and at-home HIV testing. The company also provides information about sexual health vaccinations and other health-related LGBTQIA+ issues.

Grindr is seeking to expand its influence in the reproductive health space, specifically when it comes to reducing barriers to IVF and LGBTQIA+ surrogacy. 

According to reporting from Politico, Joe Hack, former chief of staff to Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), will lead the Grindr account for The Daschle Group.

The move is notable, as Grindr appears to be the only popular dating app to lobby on healthcare issues, according to reporting by STAT News. 

The lobbying news also comes after two years of tumult following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which resulted in access to reproductive services, including IVF, being thrust into chaos. 

In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF should be considered children and that both fertility clinics and physicians providing the procedure could be prosecuted.

Shortly after the decision, fertility clinics in Alabama halted treatments, until the Alabama legislature passed a bill that would protect them from criminal liability related to IVF treatments. That bill was signed into law in March.

Since then, IVF has been considered one of the key healthcare issues in the 2024 election cycle. 

On Capitol Hill, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have sought to push through legislation that would protect IVF access on a federal level, but gridlock between the parties has prevented any bill from passing.

Additionally, in the short time since President Joe Biden announced the suspension of his reelection campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris has risen as the likely successor as the Democratic nominee, she has already begun emphasising reproductive and abortion rights, as well as IVF access, as one of the main pillars of her campaign.

Former President Donald Trump has also touched on the IVF issue, noting that he supports access to the procedure.

You can read the original story here MM+M.