Major Film Studios Follow Netflix In Putting Georgia On Notice Over Illegal Abortion Law

Young women protest against quack-science “Heartbeat Bill” in Georgia.

It was a slow start on whether or not America’s film industry would become involved in Georgia politics, threatening to abandon existing projects and future expansion of filming major projects like the revolutionary, Oscar-winning ‘Black Panther’ movie.

Netflix was the first major studio to take a stand against the medical-quackery ‘heartbeat bill banning abortion at about six weeks, joining the ACLU lawsuit in fighting the law not only as an infringement of Roe v. Wade, but as pseudo-science that has no basis in medical facts.

Today, an onslaught of new studios including Viacom, CBS, Sony, AMC, NBC Universal and Warner Media raises their collective business voices against the new law.

"We operate and produce work in many states and within several countries at any given time, and while that doesn't mean we agree with every position taken by a state or country and their leaders, we do respect due process," WarnerMedia said in a statement on Thursday. "We will watch the situation closely, and if the new law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new productions. As is always the case, we will work closely with our production partners and talent to determine how and where to shoot any given project."

Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams' show ‘Lovecraft County ‘ is currently in production in Georgia and both stars have said that they will donate their their episodic fees for the first season to the ACLU of Georgia and Fair Fight Georgia. Producer Jason Bateman, of ’Lovecraft County’ and ‘The Outsider’ says he will no longer work in Georgia if the law remains in place.

Georgia Handmaids promise a fight at the Georgia ballot box. Given the intense activism generated by Stacey Abrams’ governor’s race among women of color and white suburban women both, the Handmaid threats may bring ballot box results.

Virtually all of the players believe that the bills will lose in the federal court system. Still, every studio head speaking on this issue said they will leave Georgia if somehow the bill is upheld. Given the proliferation of ‘Heartbeat Law’ around the country, it’s entirely feasible that the film industry will only exist in blue states.

CBS, which films MacGyver in the state, chimed in. "Creative voices across our industry have expressed strong concern about the recently signed bill in Georgia. The ability to attract the best talent is the first step in producing great entertainment content and is always an important consideration in where we film any series," said a rep for the company. "We are monitoring the legislative and legal developments in Georgia with the full expectation that the process in the courts will play out for some time. For now, we will continue producing our series based there that have production orders for next season. If the law takes effect in Georgia or elsewhere, these may not be viable locations for our future production."

The Atlanta Constitution reports that Netflix’s position right now is that if producers and actors don’t want to work in Georgia, they have Netflix’s support. At least one Netflix movie has already relocated, in spite of Georgia’s generous tax credits that have helped the film industry generate $2.7 billion in state spending for the period ending June 30, 2018. Only California and New York generate more dollars in the business sector.

Gov. Brian Kemp, who narrowly beat popular Democrat Stacey Adams last November has declined to comment on the standoff since Netflix’s statement on Tuesday. On a separate note, on Thursday US District Judge Steve Jones rejected Georgia election officials’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit, filed by allies of Democrat Stacey Abrams after her 2018 loss to Kemp.

The lawsuit is seeking court intervention to stop voter registration purges, absentee ballot cancellations, precinct closures and potential voting machine tampering. The lawsuit alleges that racial minorities have suffered particular disenfranchisement under the Republican purges.

Texas Leads Developed World In Maternal Mortality As Handmaid Activists Bow Meekly In Ohio Statehouse

Ohio statehouse June 13, 2017 a activists channeling 'The Handmaid's Tale' protest new abortion restrictions.

Powerful! This is a scene from last week's June 13 protest of Senate Bill 145, a proposed abortion ban of the most common method for second-trimester abortions, at the Ohio statehouse. 

Gone are the pink Planned Parenthood tees, as reproductive health activists now wear long red cloaks and white bonnets in a nod to Margaret Atwood's dystopian feminist classic 'The Handmaid's Tale', now playing on Hulu. 

Michael Premo, Chief of Staff for the Ohio Senate Democrats Tweeted his own photo, with the message: "Just another day at the Statehouse".

Michael Premo, Chief of Staff for the Democrats in Ohio Senate writes: Just another day at the Statehouse.

Texas Leads Every Developed Country in Maternal Mortality

Do you know that Texas now leads the developed world in maternal deaths? Yup. Deaths have doubled since the attack on Planned Parenthood clinics, closing down the only source of maternal healthcare in poorer parts of Texas.

Mothers don't count apparently, because Republicans in Congress seek to close down Planned Parenthood facilities all over America. Many Democratic blue states like New York and California are committed to making up any federal deficit. But red states are ready to implement the Texas strategy with similar results to Texas. 

Note that causality has not been established from a research standpoint, demonstrating that the closures of Planned Parenthood clinics in poor, rural areas of the state directly caused the doubling of maternal deaths. But most women's healthcare advocates argue that such an event can't be traced to any other change in the daily lives of Texas women. 

Dudes, you have major blood on your hands. Don't you ever utter 'protecting life' to me again.