Last year, top studios and actors in Hollywood slammed Georgia for introducing an anti-LGBT bill that said adoption agencies could refuse to place children in gay or lesbian homes due to religious reasons. Georgia has become a key state for Hollywood, as major productions (from Marvel to The Walking Dead) film there, and to lose that business would be devastating. The bill ultimately did not pass.
Now, Georgia has passed a bill that criminalizes abortion, saying that as soon as a fetus has a heartbeat (so after about six weeks), women cannot seek abortions. Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant after six weeks. The bill also says women who miscarry can be charged for second-degree murder (are you KIDDING ME??), and can women who seek out-of-state abortions can be punished. If we wondered when we were going to be in Gilead, this bill is basically it.
Several actors and even the WGA East have taken to Twitter to speak against the bill. Given how much money is poured into Georgia via Hollywood—The Hollywood Reporter puts it at 2.7 billion—a boycott in response to this bill would absolutely send a message to politicians that oppressing women is bad for business, which should go without saying, to be frank.
I stand with @staceyabrams @naral and so many of my friends in opposition to #HB481, a bill being considered right now in Georgia that would essentially ban abortion in the state.
Georgia residents, please speak out, let your local representatives know, #HB481isBadForBusiness.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 29, 2019
Fuck. This. #HB481IsBadForBusiness https://t.co/kjDcAi0e4J
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 29, 2019
WGAE and @WGAWest oppose Georgia’s abortion ban legislation #HB481. This draconian anti-choice law would discourage people in our industry from working in Georgia and could harm the state’s vibrant film and television industry. Full statement attached. pic.twitter.com/bAfJkhXSTv
— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) March 26, 2019
Milano also wrote a letter that was signed by around 50 actors (from Don Cheadle to Gabrielle Union) saying that should the bill pass, they would “move our industry to a safer state for women.”
On her late night show, Busy Philipps shared an emotional moment with her audience talking about how scared this law made her, and how scared she was for the women and girls of this country. Check out the powerful clip below.
Philipps’s tears and fear are palpable, but they’re relatable for many women. As she says in the clip, we can have a normal Tuesday and then be reminded that people are actively trying to police our bodies. She also makes an excellent point: criminalizing abortion won’t stop abortion, but keeping it legal will keep women safe. Women died before Roe v. Wade because they could not safely make choices about their own bodies.
A boycott in Georgia would threaten the livelihoods of those who work for the entertainment industry there, but it might be the only way to enact change outside of taking this to the Supreme Court (which could be the lawmakers’ goal, considering the court’s Republican majority). At this point, it’s a matter of women’s lives and freedoms. If Hollywood wants to say it’s liberal and stands for rights, it will have to put its money where its mouth is now.
Hopefully, things will change. Until then, we can take a moment to be afraid for this bill and what it means for women. And then we get up, and we keep pushing back against it until something changes for the better. There’s nothing else we can do.
(image: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
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