Tag: REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

So Woke: Disney, Netflix Threaten Georgia Boycott But Continue Work in Countries Where Abortion Is Illegal

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By Dr. Susan Berry

Film industry giants Disney and Netflix are threatening to boycott the state of Georgia over its new “heartbeat” abortion law, but have continued and even stepped up filming in countries in which abortion is entirely illegal or highly restricted.

Variety reported Monday Netflix intends to increase production in Egypt – where abortion is illegal – with Paranormal, directed by Amr Salama and based on the horror books by late Egyptian author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik.

“We are excited to continue our investment in Middle Eastern productions by adapting the highly acclaimed Paranormal novels into a thrilling new series,” said Kelly Luegenbiehl, Netflix vice president of international originals.

Variety reported Paranormal is the third Middle Eastern Netflix original series. It follows Jinn, a teen drama with supernatural themes that was filmed in Jordan, where abortion is illegal, except to save the life of the woman or if her health is threatened. Women as well as abortionists can be penalized for defying the law in Jordan.

Despite filming in these nations, however, on Tuesday Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, told Variety the company has “many women working on productions in Georgia, whose rights … will be severely restricted” by the Georgia law that prohibits abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Sarandos said Netflix would be working with the ACLU to fight the new law.

“Given the legislation has not yet been implemented, we’ll continue to film there, while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to,” he added. “Should it ever come into effect, we’d rethink our entire investment in Georgia.”

While Disney Chairman Bob Iger commented that it would not be “practical” for his company to continue to shoot in Georgia, given its new abortion law, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Disney filmed part of its 2019 film Aladdin in Jordan as well.

The Free Beacon also noted that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise. In 2015, the company distributed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was filmed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where abortion is illegal except during the first 120 days of pregnancy and only when the mother’s life is threatened or the baby is diagnosed with a “lethal abnormality” that is “incompatible with life.”

Republican pollster Logan Dobson also observed on Twitter that Star Wars: The Last Jedi filmed scenes in Croatia, Ireland, and Bolivia – all nations in which abortion was highly restricted at the time of filming:

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The Wall Street Journal editorial board noted the inconsistency in Disney’s policies, and specifically pointed out that the company also touts its theme park and films in China, where Turkic Muslims are being held in internment camps:

More than a few Americans may also notice the contradiction that Disney is more worried about filming in a U.S. state that has passed a law democratically than it is operating its theme park and hawking its films in China, which uses facial-recognition software to monitor its population and has a million Uighurs in re-education camps.

For decades, China also attempted to force control of its population with its “one-child policy,” which restricted the number of children a couple could have to only one.

Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act (HB 481) prohibits abortions in the state after a heartbeat is detected, usually at about six or seven weeks of pregnancy. Cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger are exceptions to the law.

Georgia is the third largest production hub in the country, due to its generous tax incentives.

Actress and political activist Alyssa Milano called for a Hollywood boycott of Georgia if Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law. Milano then followed with a call for a sex strike – urging women to engage in abstinence from sex – to protest the end to “reproductive rights.”

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The End of States! Warren Calls for Federal Government Intervention to Keep Abortion Legal

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By Penny Starr

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is calling for Congress to create and pass legislation that would make access to abortion mandatory across the United States.

Like many of her Democrat colleagues running for the 2020 presidential nomination, Warren is reacting to Alabama banning abortion and several other states poised to follow suit, most recently Missouri.

“These extremist Republican lawmakers know what the law is — but they don’t care,” Warren wrote in a commentary posted on the Medium website on Friday. “They want to turn back the clock, outlaw abortion, and deny women access to reproductive health care. And they are hoping the Supreme Court will back their radical play.”

And she blames Trump for the nation’s increasingly pro-life stance, including that he “stole” a seat on the United States Supreme Court.

“I’ll be blunt: It just might work,” Warren wrote. “President Trump has packed the courts with extreme, anti-choice judges. Senate Republicans stole a Supreme Court seat and rammed through the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh last year in order to cement an anti-choice majority on the Supreme Court.”

Warren claims, falsely, the abortion and “reproductive rights” are guaranteed in the Constitution. The court applied the Fourth Amendment’s right for citizens’ privacy to make legal abortion on demand the law of the land.

And because Warren and other pro-abortion politicians and activists know that the Roe V. Wade decision comes under renewed scrutiny by the high court, the law could be undone.

Her answer: federal government intervention that would stifle states’ right to make abortion laws, including lifting the ban on federal funding of abortions.

“Congress should pass new federal laws that protect access to reproductive care from right-wing ideologues in the states,” Warren wrote. “Federal laws that ensure real access to birth control and abortion care for all women. Federal laws that will stand no matter what the Supreme Court does.”

Government intervention would include:

  • Create federal, statutory rights that parallel the constitutional right in Roe v. Wade.

  • Pass federal laws to preempt state efforts that functionally limit access to reproductive health care.

  • Guarantee reproductive health coverage as part of all health coverage.

In her commentary, Warren inadvertently revealed how pro-life the nation is becoming, including 55 laws restricting abortion have been passed by state legislatures and 18 states have laws in place to kick in if the Roe decision. And 90 percent of counties in the country do not have an abortion clinic, according to data from 2014.

“This is a dark moment,” Warren wrote. “People are scared and angry. And they are right to be. But this isn’t a moment to back down – it’s time to fight back.”

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