13 May 2019 - Georgia to ban most abortions, miscarriage could lead to 30 years in prison
Georgia state abortion law fuels Hollywood boycott call
(BBC News, 12/05/2019)
Actors signed an open letter in March pledging not to work should the law - which bans most abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy - pass.
Georgia is the latest state to enact legislation restricting abortion.
Actress and #MeToo advocate Alyssa Milano also urged women on Saturday to join her in a sex strike in protest.
Ms Milano's tweet divided opinion on social media, sparking a debate that led to the #SexStrike hashtag trending on Twitter in the US.
Women could get up to 30 years in prison for having a miscarriage under Georgia's harsh new abortion law
Grace Panetta (Business Insider, 10/05/2019)
On Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia signed HB 481, a bill banning abortion after five to six weeks of pregnancy.
It's set to take effect January 1, but at least two reproductive-rights organizations are challenging it on the grounds that it violates Roe v. Wade.
In addition to banning abortion after a heartbeat can be detected, the law's personhood provisions would seem to allow for women who perform their own abortions, travel out of state for an abortion, or are found to be responsible for a miscarriage to be charged with murder.
While many states have recently approved six- or 15-week abortion bans in an effort to bring a case to the Supreme Court for the purposes of overturning Roe v. Wade, Georgia's law goes further than others in holding women criminally responsible.
Can Georgia’s powerhouse entertainment industry knock some sense into lawmakers pushing draconian abortion laws?
Aldous Pennyfarthing, Daily Kos (Alternet, 12/05/2019)
If you spent as much time at imdb.com looking up old Facts of Life episodes as I do, you might know that Georgia has become a popular location for numerous TV and film productions, thanks to generous tax breaks signed into law more than 10 years ago.
In fact, Gov. Brian Kemp (you know, that guy who totally stole the latest gubernatorial election by acting as both ref and competitor) has estimated that the entertainment industry employs 200,000 in the state.
That is, it did, until Georgia decided to try to make abortions almost impossible to obtain as a result of its completely arbitrary determination that a heartbeat automatically confers personhood.
‘Heartbeat’ Laws Could Ban Most Abortions Across Deep South
Russ Bynum (Huffpost, 05/11/2019)
If a new Mississippi law survives a court challenge, it will be nearly impossible for most pregnant women to get an abortion there.
Or, potentially, in neighboring Louisiana. Or Alabama. Or Georgia.
The Louisiana legislature is halfway toward passing a law — like the ones enacted in Mississippi and Georgia — that will ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women know they’re pregnant. Alabama is on the cusp of approving an even more restrictive bill.
State governments are on a course to virtually eliminate abortion access in large chunks of the Deep South and Midwest. Ohio and Kentucky also have passed heartbeat laws; Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature is considering one.
Hi. My name is Rebecca and this is my abortion story
Rebecca Thomas For Star Halifax (The Star, 12/05/2019)
The state of Georgia just signed House Bill 481 which would make abortion illegal after six weeks into pregnancy, or once a fetal heartbeat is detected; a time frame in which many women have to yet to find out they are pregnant.
This kind of bill is otherwise known as a “Heartbeat Bill.”
As a woman who has always been vehemently pro-choice, this kind of bill meant to single-handedly control and regulate women’s bodies makes me so angry, I have a hard time finding the words to describe it.