Georgia Gov Will Sign Heartbeat Abortion Ban Tuesday Despite Alyssa Milano Protest

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   May 6, 2019   |   5:52PM   |   Atlanta, GA

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp hopes to sign a bill Tuesday that would ban abortions after an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, his spokesperson said.

Kemp, a pro-life Republican, repeatedly has said he will sign the measure despite a threat by actress Alyssa Milano and other Hollywood elites to boycott the state if he does.

The bill passed the state legislature earlier this spring, and pro-lifers have been waiting for the governor’s action. CNN reported about Kemp’s plan to sign the bill Tuesday.

The measure would ban abortions on an unborn baby after their heartbeat is detectable, around six weeks. It would allow exceptions for rape, incest and threats to the mother’s life. In addition, the bill would allow parents to claim unborn babies as dependents on their taxes and include the unborn baby in census data. It also would allow mothers to collect child support for pregnancy and delivery costs from the father prior to the baby’s birth.

Meanwhile, Hollywood liberals have been protesting the bill and calling for a boycott of the state, a popular filming location for movies and TV shows. Milano and other Hollywood liberals used their influence to try to stir up outrage about the heartbeat bill. Celebrities including Alec Baldwin, Amy Schumer, Rosie O’Donnell, Sean Penn, Mia Farrow and Ben Stiller joined Milano in their condemnation of the pro-life bill.

Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Natalie Portman also said they would boycott the state if Kemp signs the bill.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports Amazon.com, Coca-Cola Co. and several other major companies also oppose the legislation.

However, Kemp has been firm in his support for unborn babies.

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“I do not think it will hurt the film industry in Georgia or any other business whatsoever,” Kemp told WTOC News 11 earlier this spring. “Us sticking up for our Georgia values and protecting life is not going to protect a bad business environment in Georgia, I can promise you.”

Later, he told WSB’s Scott Slade that he will not back down, despite the threats.

“We value life in our state,” Kemp said. “I don’t believe there will be dire consequences for supporting life in our state.”

Georgia state Rep. Ed Setzler, the lead sponsor of the bill, said his goal is to protect unborn babies, who already are unique, living human beings by six weeks of pregnancy.

“Protecting life in the womb with a human heartbeat is what science, law and human conscience would suggest,” Setzler said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia intends to sue the state over the legislation.

This winter, pro-life lawmakers have introduced a number of heartbeat bills including in Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Some pro-lifers have renewed hope that the new conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court will uphold an abortion ban and overturn Roe v. Wade. Others, however, are hesitant because of concerns about losing the court battle and being forced to reimburse pro-abortion groups for their legal fees.

Recently, a federal judge blocked Kentucky’s new heartbeat bill. In January, a judge also declared Iowa’s heartbeat law unconstitutional. North Dakota and Arkansas passed heartbeat bills several years ago, but federal courts struck down their laws as well.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals said the following about its ruling on the six-week abortion ban: “Because there is no genuine dispute that (North Dakota’s law) generally prohibits abortions before viability — as the Supreme Court has defined that concept — and because we are bound by Supreme Court precedent holding that states may not prohibit pre-viability abortions, we must affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the plaintiffs.”

There is more hope that the U.S. Supreme Court may consider an abortion ban, but it is difficult to say if it would for certain – especially after Chief Justice John Roberts recently sided with the liberal justices on an abortion case