I’m sure you’ve heard all about the various new abortion laws being passed in states like Alabama, Missouri, or Georgia.
All of these laws greatly reduce or outright ban abortions in most situations, flying directly in the face of the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade , which says that abortion is a right that cannot be banned.
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Protests are still going strong, as while many of these states have signed the bans into law, but they don’t take effect yet.
As such, organizations such as the ACLU have begun taking steps to fight the laws in court.
In most cases, this is exactly what the states want.
With the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, anti-abortion groups see an opportunity.
If any of these cases make it that far, it’s possible that the current make-up of justices could swing the issue in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade .
Meanwhile, individual people and businesses are stuck trying to decide how to handle living and working in those states.
People are cancelling vacations, dropping out of conventions, and calling for larger companies to take steps to boycott or otherwise pull their support out of states where these bills are passing.
In particular, people have called for Hollywood to take a stand against Georgia, which is often called the “Hollywood of the South.”
According to Reuters , 455 productions were shot in Georgia in 2018 and generated around 92,000 jobs.
It’s a popular location because the state provides a 30% tax break.
For the most part, the major Hollywood studios have remained quiet about the issue.
However, individual stars, producers, and filmmakers have been taking a stand, forcing productions to move out of the state by refusing to work if they didn’t.
But during an interview prior to the unveiling of the new ‘Star Wars,’ Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed it.
Many of the recent Marvel movies, such as Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame were filmed in Georgia.
When asked if they would continue to film in Georgia if the law came into effect, he told Reuters , “I rather doubt we will.”
Though he didn’t take a stand so much as acknowledge that many of the people who work for Disney will refuse.
He said:
“I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully. I don’t see how it’s practical for us to continue to shoot there.”
This is similar to the statement recently made by Netflix.
Netflix was the first major studio to comment and they said they are supporting creators who choose not to work in Georgia, but are taking a wait and see approach while the law is fought in the courts.
It’s kind of wishy-washy to me, but at least they’re honest about it.
h/t: Reuters
