Debate over Texas’ restrictive new abortion law that bans the procedure once a fetal heartbeat can be detected has been fierce, and a tech leader’s tweet in support of the law over the weekend appears to have cost him his job.
John Gibson, who until Monday had been the CEO of the Roswell, Georgia-based Tripwire Interactive video game development company, on Saturday tweeted that he was “proud” of the U.S. Supreme Court for affirming the law.
“Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of the issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer,” he wrote.
Among the respondents to Gibson’s tweet was a video game co-development company called Shipwright Studios, which had contracted with Tripwire.
The statement from the company reads, in part, “We started Shipwright with the idea that it was finally time to put our money where our mouth is. We cannot in good conscience continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure. We will begin the cancellation of our existing contracts immediately.”
On Monday Tripwire released a statement stating Gibson had stepped down as CEO and that the company’s vice president, Alan Wilson, would take over as interim CEO.
“The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company,” the statement reads. “His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community. Our leadership team at Tripwire are deeply sorry and are unified in our commitment to take swift action and to foster a more positive environment.”
Texas’ new abortion law, regarded as the strictest in the nation, prohibits the procedure once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks — before some women know they’re pregnant.
Courts have blocked other states from imposing similar restrictions, but Texas’ law differs significantly because it leaves enforcement up to private citizens through lawsuits instead of criminal prosecutors.
The U.S. Supreme Court last week allowed it to remain in force by voting 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.