ATLANTA — Actress Alyssa Milano and other members of Georgia’s film and television industry urged state lawmakers Tuesday to reconsider HB 481, which passed for the final time in the Georgia House of Representatives last week.
The controversial bill, nicknamed the “Heartbeat Bill,” outlaws most abortions as soon as a doctor can detect a heartbeat in a fetus. Doctors say a heartbeat is typically detected when a fetus reaches six weeks' gestation.
[READ: Major Hollywood celebs protest Georgia's anti-abortion bill]
Current Georgia law allows abortions up to 20 weeks.
Milano delivered a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp’s officer, asking for a phone conference to talk about the bill.
While there, Republican Rep. David Lariccia, asked Milano several times if she was a Georgia voter.
So this just happened between @Alyssa_Milano and Republican Rep. Dominic LaRiccia in Gov Kemp’s office. He keeps asking if Milano is a Georgia voter. She talks about all the film industry professionals she works with here in GA who are voters, against “Heartbeat Bill” @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/A2H2807pmA
— Nicole Carr (@NicoleCarrWSB) April 2, 2019
Milano replied no, but she works in Georgia, her colleagues are Georgia voters and they believe the "Heartbeat Bill" is dangerous for women.
Milano said the bill is taking the state in the wrong direction.
The actress then stood with other film industry workers who live in Georgia inside the Capitol rotunda where she held a news conference urging the film industry to rethink filming in the Georgia.
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"We can't continue to allow these white men, middle-aged men, to dictate what we are able to do with our bodies. It is not fair. So we are taking a stand, our industry is taking a stand, women are taking a stand and we're saying no more. No more of these hurtful policies happening all over the country. It's unacceptable," Milano said.
Channel 2's Nicole Carr spoke with a mother who said her child is in the page program at the Capitol. She happened to be there as the news conference was going on and said if Hollywood doesn't like the bill, they can go.
[READ: Actress Alyssa Milano tells Hollywood to leave Georgia over ‘heartbeat' bill]
"She doesn't live here, she doesn't vote here. My honest feelings are, if you want to take Hollywood somewhere else, take it. We'll keep our morals," mother Christy Foreman said.
In a one-on-one interview with Channel 2's Richard Elliot, Kemp said he intended on signing the "Heartbeat Bill" into law, despite the criticism from the movie industry.
“Even if you disagree on the ‘Heartbeat Bill,’ there’s still a lot of things we do agree on, and I hope some of those folks in Hollywood who have been critical of that, come to the table and help with our other social issues.
Kemp has until May 12 to sign the bill into law.
Cox Media Group
