This week, both Netflix and Disney, as well as a whole host of Hollywood stars, threatened to boycott the US state of Georgia for their new proposed abortion laws. The laws would bar women from seeking an abortion after six weeks, essentially banning abortion outright as many women do not even realise they are pregnant before then. Hoping to use their status and power to end the policing of women’s bodies, production companies and celebrities alike have warned not to film in the state.
Yet, there is a glaring irony in all of their statements, because both Netflix and Disney have current projects based in Northern Ireland. The province that bans abortion from the moment of conception, including instances of rape, incest and when the foetus has s a fatal abnormality. Where women face life imprisonment for obtaining an abortion, and often have to resort to unsafe abortions – the leading cause of death for women during pregnancy and childbirth.
Currently, Netflix hosts many shows filmed in this very state. Line of Duty, The Fall, Flinch and Marcella are all produced there, while Disney too continues to film their new science-fiction film Atemis Fowl in the province. They’re not alone though, the list of high-profile productions filmed there by HBO, Universal and many others is endless: Game of Thrones, The Virtues, The Lost City of Z, The Fall, High-Rise, Your Highness, The Bookshop, we could go on forever.
Of course, Netflix and Disney are the only production companies so far that have publicly boycotted the Georgia ban, having previously filmed many features there because of attractive tax breaks. From Netflix’s highly commended Stranger Things to all of Disney’s top Marvel franchises including Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America and Spider-Man – the location has been sought after for years by entertainment producers.
‘Given the [Georgia] legislation has not yet been implemented, we’ll continue to film there, while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to,’ Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer said in a statement, ‘should it ever come into effect, we’d rethink our entire investment in Georgia.’
Disney chief executive Bob Iger then joined in on the proposed boycott, stating it would be ‘difficult’ to continue filming there because ‘many people who work for us will not want to work there.’ The many people he’s referring to? Most likely the whole host of celebrities that signed a letter promising to do ‘everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women’. Amy Schumer, Gabriella Union, Alex Baldwin and Ben Stiller are just four of many Hollywood actors who signed the warning.
Read more: 9 potential realities of America's new abortion bills that will horrify you...
9 Potential Realities Of America's Reverse Abortion Laws
1 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
2 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
Governor Kay Ivey signed into a law, a controversial abortion bill that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison. Under the bill, doctors could face 10 years in prison for even attempting to terminate a pregnancy.
3 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
Doctors in the same state who go ahead and complete the termination of a pregnancy, could be facing a life sentence. The act is legislated as a "Class A Felony" – others in the same category include first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape. For context, second degree rape – having sex with a minor or with someone who is incapable of consent due to mental disability or incapacity is a much lesser sentence of no more than 20 years in prison. Sexual abuse and incest is punishable by up to ten years in prison.
4 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
This is often a point at which a woman will not yet realise she is pregnant – especially if she has an irregular cycle or has taken the contraceptive or morning after pill and attributes a missed period to that. The number of weeks a woman is pregnant is calculated from the first day of her last period – though, conception usually takes place around two weeks after that when an egg is released. So for the first two weeks of pregnancy we're not really pregnant at all. Week five is the time that a woman will likely realise her period is late and, consequently, that she is pregnant. This leaves one week, if she is lucky, to procure an abortion.
5 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
The law in Georgia goes one step further than some of the other states that have imposed a six-week time limit on abortions, and considers fetus to be a "natural person", requiring full legal recognition, from the point of conception. Although the intention of the law as it is written, may not to be to punish women who are pregnant, as a worst-case scenario, women could find themselves criminally liable for carrying out their own abortion. Many have pointed out that further difficulties may arise when ascertaining whether a person has miscarried or aborted a pregnancy – sometimes the same drugs used to perform a termination are used during miscarriage to help the process. Laws similar to this have, in the past, led to gravely unjust and horrifying consequences for women. For instance in El Salvador, a country that still bans abortion outright, where women have been wrongly jailed after suffering miscarriages. Three women accused of having abortions and convicted of aggravated homicide were freed just this year, in March, after having served up to 11 years in prison.
6 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
Again, this may not be the primary intention of the law, but legal journalist Mark Joseph Stern writes for Slate that, 'A woman who miscarries because of her own conduct – say using drugs while pregnant – would be liable for second degree murder, punishable by 10-30 years imprisonment.'
7 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
Again, this is because lawmakers have voted to give foetuses 'full legal recognition' under Georgia law – making the abortion illegal even if it takes place out of state.
8 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
This could even be true of someone who simply drives another person to a clinic to procure a termination.
9 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
There are also currently three abortion clinics in Alabama. In the 1990s there were more than 20.
10 of 10Multiple states in America are signing bills to render abortion illegal at six weeks
Louisiana looks set to follow suit with a similar bill.
In fact, some even released their own statements boycotting the ban, although again the irony was blatant. Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner tweeted that she would refuse to work in any US state with an abortion ban having just spent 10 years filming a TV show primarily based in Northern Ireland.
‘I’ve heard that a lot of actors have signed a letter agreeing not to work in the US state of Georgia because of their abortion laws,’ tweeted Derry Girls actor Nicola Coughlan, ‘while I think this is a worthy protest are they going to extend this to The UK too seeing as Northern Ireland has a complete ban on abortion?’
The Derry Girls stars are outspoken activists against the current abhorrent abortion laws in Northern Ireland, and while Coughlan states she would not boycott Northern Ireland because her ‘time is better spent supporting the women there by speaking out in interviews’, she affirmed that if actors are boycotting Georgia, they shouldn’t ignore the Northern Ireland.
Both Netflix and Disney have refused to comment on their continued work in Northern Ireland, however it has been reported by The Telegraph that Netflix executives believe the situation differs because women in Georgia have had their rights removed whereas Northern Ireland women never had these rights. It seems that somehow never having bodily autonomy doesn’t make the situation much worse and a matter of absolute urgency, but allows them to push the issue under the rug.
‘It shouldn’t be one rule for Georgia and one rule for Northern Ireland,’ said Emma Campbell, co-chair of the Northern Irish campaign group Alliance for Choice, ‘companies like Disney making a public statement could put political pressure on in a way that an activist group like ourselves just can’t.’
‘Those benefiting from tax breaks in Northern Ireland, the likes of Netflix and Disney should know that women who pay their taxes are not getting access to healthcare on the NHS for their abortions,’ added Kerry Abel, chair of the Abortion Rights charity.
We can only wait and hope to see if there is a response from these high-profile production companies and celebrities alike. They have the power to raise the profile of entire cities, as was seen with the tourism Game of Thrones brought to Northern Ireland, and subsequently choose not to. With that power comes a responsibility to support all women – not cherry pick those that are closest to home. If you’re going to make a feminist statement and benefit off the consumer loyalty that no doubt brings, make it inclusive of all of us.