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Hollywood celebrities threaten boycott of Georgia over heartbeat abortion bill

Led by actress Alyssa Milano, a group of about 50 celebrities signed an open letter Thursday addressed to Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Hon. David Ralston (R), the Georgia Speaker of the House, saying that they do not want H.B. 481 to become law. Milano films her show “Insatiable” in Georgia.

“We’ve always found (Georgia) to be populated with friendly and caring people,” says the letter. “We’ve found the hotels in which we stay and restaurants in which we dine while filming there to be comfortable and of a high quality. We’ve been glad to bring billions of dollars in revenue to support Georgia’s schools, parks, and communities.”

“But we cannot in good conscience continue to recommend our industry remain in Georgia if H.B. 481 becomes law.”

H.B. 481, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, recently passed in the Georgia State Senate. The vote was entirely along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor of the bill, and all Democrats against.

CNA reports that the amended version of the bill will now go to the House of Representatives, where an earlier version passed. Kemp has said that he will sign the bill into law.

The signatories, who include Alec Baldwin, Don Cheadle, Rosie O’Donnell, Gabrielle Union, and Sean Penn, said that if this “dangerous and deeply-flawed bill” were to become law, they would do “everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women.”

“We can’t imagine being elected officials who had to say to their constituents ‘I enacted a law that was so evil, it chased billions of dollars out of our state’s economy,’” says the letter.

But, despite the pressure, the bill was passed. After some 35 minutes of debate, the Georgia House of Representatives voted on March 29 by a count of 92-78 to “agree” with the version passed through the Senate.

The action sends the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, also known as the fetal heartbeat bill, to Governor Brian Kemp’s desk. Kemp has maintained strong support for the bill’s passage dating back to his gubernatorial campaign and is expected to sign it.

Sources: CNA, Christian Index

Photo: Flickr

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