Georgia House Bill 481


Georgia House Bill 481, also known as the Living Infants Fairness Equality Act or, simply Georgia HB481, is a proposed American anti-abortion act that would prevent physicians practicing medicine in the U.S. state of Georgia from performing abortions beyond six weeks, except in special situations. The bill has been strongly criticized and, notably, many celebrities in Hollywood threatened to boycott the state of Georgia if it were passed.

Overview

Provisions

The Georgia HB481 is a fetal heartbeat bill; except in certain situations, physicians practicing medicine in the state of Georgia would be prohibited from offering abortion services to pregnant women if a fetal heartbeat is present, which typically occurs in the 6th week of pregnancy. Exceptions are provided for women whose pregnancies are considered futile or medical emergency and women pregnant by rape or incest but only if they are less than 20 weeks pregnant and only if they have filed a police report.

Supporters

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Ed Setzler, Rep. Jodi Lott, Rep. Darlene Taylor, Rep. Josh Bonner, Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, Rep. Micah Gravley, and Sen. Renee Unterman, all members of the Republican Party.
Proponents of the bill compare the rights of fetuses to those of slaves liberated under the Fourteenth Amendment and LGBT people.

Similar bills

introduced a similar fetal heartbeat bill in 2019, H.3020, which passed the South Carolina House of Representatives in a 71 to 30 vote. The Post and Courier reported that despite passing, it was unlikely the bill would be signed into law. Mississippi and Kentucky had passed similar measures in 2019, both of which are being subjected to legal backlash.

Response

, the current governor of Georgia, has voiced support for the bill, calling it "common sense". Meanwhile, Georgia senator, Jen Jordan, has opposed it, arguing with the way the legislation is worded, a woman would only have 1–2 weeks to realize she'd missed a period and schedule an abortion to keep within the time frame allotted by the bill. Kemp signed the bill on May 7.

Hollywood boycott

More than fifty high profile individuals in the U.S. entertainment industry, ranging from actors to screenwriters to directors, issued an official statement threatening to boycott the state of Georgia if the bill is passed. Additionally, Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East issued a joint statement saying their members would also boycott the state. Such a boycott could have a devastating effect on Georgia's economy, as the state, especially the capital city of Atlanta, serves as the filming location for many high budget films and television shows, including The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, and Cobra Kai. In 2018, it was estimated that film and television productions contributed US$9.5 billion to Georgia's economy.

Legal challenge

The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued the state in June 2019 and sought an injunction against enforcement of the ban before it would go into effect in January 2020. The case was heard in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia under Judge Steve C. Jones. Jones ruled in favor of the injunction to block enforcement in his decision in October 2019, stating "By banning pre-viability abortions, H.B. 481 violates the constitutional right to privacy, which, in turn, inflicts per se irreparable harm on Plaintiffs."