Georgia House Bill 481
Georgia House Bill 481 | ||
---|---|---|
Georgia General Assembly | ||
Long title
| ||
Passed | April 4, 2019 | |
Signed by | Bill title House Bill 481 | |
First reading | February 26, 2019 | |
Second reading | February 27, 2019 | |
Third reading | March 7, 2019 | |
Summary | ||
Banning abortion beyond fetal heartbeat | ||
Status: In force |
The Georgia House Bill 481 was an American law passed in 2019 that sought to prevent
Overview
Provisions
The Georgia HB481 is a
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.[2]
Proponents of the bill compare the rights of fetuses to those of slaves liberated under the Fourteenth Amendment and LGBT people.[3][unreliable source?]
Similar bills
South Carolina introduced a similar prohibitive 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.[4] Mississippi (Senate Bill 2116) and Kentucky had passed similar measures in 2019, both of which are being subjected to legal backlash.[5][6]
Response
Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia voiced his support for the bill, calling it "common sense".[7] Georgia state senator Jen Jordan opposed it, objecting to the wording of the legislation: a woman would have only 1 to 2 weeks to realize she had missed a menstrual period and schedule an abortion, in order to stay within the time frame allotted by the bill.[8] Kemp signed the bill on May 7, 2019.[9]
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.[10][11][12] Additionally, Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East issued a joint statement saying their members would also boycott the state.[13] Such a boycott could have had 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.[14][unreliable source?]
- Judd Apatow
- Amy Schumer
- Sean Penn
- Alec Baldwin
- Don Cheadle
- Rosie O'Donnell
- Patton Oswalt
- Sarah Silverman
- Mia Farrow
- Alyssa Milano
- Jaime King
- J. J. Abrams
- Uzo Aduba
- Christina Applegate
- Essence Atkins
- Jason Bateman
- Maria Bello
- Michael Ian Black
- Yvette Nicole Brown
- Sophia Bush
- Holly Marie Combs
- Laverne Cox
- Jon Cryer
- David Cross
- Felicia Day
- Minnie Driver
- Frances Fisher
- Joanna Going
- Adam Goldberg
- Dallas Roberts
- Ron Howard
- Bob Iger
- Kendrick Sampson
- Greg Grunberg
- Colin Hanks
- Johnathon Schaech
- Alia Shawkat
- Michael Sheen
- Ben Stiller
- Aimee Mann
- Debra Messing
- Michael Kelly
- Tim Heidecker
- Heather Matarazzo
- Javier Muñoz
- Jordan Peele
- Piper Perabo
- Tara Strong
- Kristen Wiig
- Bradley Whitford
- Wil Wheaton
- David Wain
- Elizabeth Tulloch
- Gabrielle Union
- Nick Thune
- Amber Tamblyn
Legal challenges
Federal court cases
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."[15]
In July 2020, the bill was ruled unconstitutional by Judge Jones.
State court cases
The ACLU, SisterSong, Planned Parenthood and other groups sued the state in July 2022 following the federal case's conclusion. The parties sought an injunction against enforcement of the ban under the Constitution of Georgia. The case was filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County and will be heard by Judge Robert McBurney.[19]
References
- ^ "HB 481 2019-2020 Regular Session". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ "Georgia HB481 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session". LegiScan. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ Gander, Kashmira (January 1, 2020). "Anti-abortion supporters of Georgia's "heartbeat bill" say fetuses face same civil rights issues as LGBT and black Americans". Newsweek. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ^ Lovegrove, Jamie (April 24, 2019). "SC House approves 'fetal heartbeat' bill to ban most abortions". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ^ Jessica Ravitz (21 March 2019). "Mississippi governor signs 'heartbeat bill' into law. Next up: A legal fight". CNN. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ^ "Georgia's 'fetal heartbeat' abortion bill: All eyes on Gov. Brian Kemp who has until May 12 to sign or veto". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ EDT, Jenni Fink On 3/29/19 at 3:21 PM (2019-03-29). "Georgia's strict anti-abortion bill could have a negative $9.5 billion economic impact, passes house". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Georgia's governor signs a controversial abortion bill into law". CNN. 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ Lisa Respers France (29 March 2019). "Hollywood comes out in opposition to Georgia's 'heartbeat' bill". CNN. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ "Google News". Google News. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ Milano, Alyssa (2019-03-28). "To @BrianKempGA & Speaker Ralston: Attached, is an open letter signed by 50 actors against #HB481. On behalf of the undersigned--as people often called to work in GA or those of us contractually bound to work in GA--we hope you'll reconsider signing this bill. #HBIsBadForBusinesspic.twitter.com/DsOmAWYU2x". @Alyssa_Milano. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ "WGA East & West Oppose Georgia's Abortion Ban Legislation HB 481". Writers Guild Of America East. 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ EDT, Jenni Fink On 3/29/19 at 3:21 PM (2019-03-29). "Georgia's strict anti-abortion bill could have a negative $9.5 billion economic impact, passes house". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Kelly, Caroline (October 1, 2019). "Federal judge blocks Georgia's controversial abortion ban". CNN. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ Prabhu, Maya T.; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta (July 13, 2020). "Federal judge throws out Georgia's anti-abortion law". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jill (September 27, 2021). "Georgia Appeals Court Stays Review Of Hollywood Hub's Abortion Law Ahead Of Supreme Court Case". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ Prabhu, Maya T. (July 20, 2022). "Federal court says Georgia's anti-abortion law can now be enforced". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ Prabhu, Maya T. (July 26, 2022). "Abortion providers take challenge of ban on procedure to state courts". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 27, 2022.