Abortion Boycott: How One State's Economy Could Be Hurt By Hollywood Moving Out

As Georgia faces a fallout over its controversial heartbeat abortion bill, Hollywood is threatening a boycott against shooting films in the state.

Georgia's tax breaks for filmmakers has caused the state to serve as a backdrop for movies such as "Hunger Games," and "Avengers: Endgame" along with television programs such as "The Walking Dead" and "Stranger Things."

CNBC reported that Georgia currently receives $9.5 billion in economic benefits due to film shooting in the state and has earned the moniker "Y'allywood." In 2016, Georgia overtook California as the top location for feature films.

CBS reported that the film industry is tied to 92,000 local jobs in the state and of the $9.5 billion in economic benefits, $2.7 billion dollars are in direct film industry spending. Tax incentives can allow filmmakers to save up to 30% of the cost of production in Georgia.

Disney, Netflix and Warner Media have considered boycotting the state. The absence of those companies could cause local film crews to suffer. "If Disney leaves, if Sony leaves, if Netflix leaves, the state of Georgia will feel that," Russell Williams, professor of film and media arts at American University told CNBC.

The bill signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in early May bans abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected.

In an interview with Vox Media, Dr. Krystal Redman of the Spark Reproductive Justice Now reproductive rights group, believes that "It's basically a forced pregnancy bill. It's a healthcare ban bill."

Those who perform abortions could get 10 years in prison, with some experts saying it could even lead to murder charges for women who choose to have an abortion.

Other heartbeat abortion ban bills have been passed but still need to be upheld constitutionally by the court. Federal courts blocked a heartbeat ban bill in Mississippi and a similar bill passed in Louisiana still has to be upheld by the court.

The recent bills on abortion could be a means for conservatives to have a case go to the Supreme Court, in an attempt to get an overturn on the trademark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision nationwide.

Eight other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Utah — also have passed restrictive laws in 2019 intended to strike at Roe v. Wade.