Georgia House Bill 481

Georgia House Bill 481, also known as the Living Infants Fairness Equality (LIFE) Act or, simply Georgia HB481, was an American anti-abortion law that sought to prevent physicians practicing medicine in the U.S. state of Georgia from performing abortions beyond six weeks, except in special situations. The bill was strongly criticized and, notably, many celebrities in Hollywood threatened to boycott the state of Georgia if it were passed; though it was passed, it was never put into practice, and was ultimately ruled unconstitutional in July 2020.

Georgia House Bill 481
Georgia General Assembly
PassedApril 4, 2019
SignedMay 7, 2019
Signed byBrian Kemp
Legislative history
BillHouse Bill 481
First readingFebruary 26, 2019
Second readingFebruary 27, 2019
Third readingMarch 7, 2019
Summary
Banning abortion beyond fetal heartbeat
Status: Struck down

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 (e.g. anencephaly) 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.[1]

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]

Similar bills

South Carolina 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.[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]

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.[16]

References
  1. "HB 481 2019-2020 Regular Session". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  2. "Georgia HB481 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session". LegiScan. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  3. 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.
  4. [email protected], Jamie Lovegrove. "SC House approves 'fetal heartbeat' bill to ban most abortions". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  5. Jessica Ravitz. "Mississippi governor signs 'heartbeat bill' into law. Next up: A legal fight". CNN. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  6. Mervosh, Sarah (2019-03-16). "Judge Blocks Kentucky Fetal Heartbeat Law That Bans Abortion After 6 Weeks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  7. "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.
  8. 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.
  9. "Georgia's governor signs a controversial abortion bill into law". CNN. 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  10. Lisa Respers France. "Hollywood comes out in opposition to Georgia's 'heartbeat' bill". CNN. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  11. "Google News". Google News. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  12. 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.
  13. "WGA East & West Oppose Georgia's Abortion Ban Legislation HB 481". Writers Guild Of America East. 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  14. 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.
  15. Kelly, Caroline (October 1, 2019). "Federal judge blocks Georgia's controversial abortion ban". CNN. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  16. 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.
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