Netflix threatens to boycott US State Georgia

Netflix has threatened to boycott the state of Georgia in the USA if they implement anti-abortion laws.

Netflix boss, Ted Sarandos has teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union to take a legal stance against the State Governor Brian Kemp criminalising abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected at six weeks.

Although the bill has not come into effect yet, if it does Sarandos has said Netflix will have to "rethink our entire investment in Georgia".

“We have many women working on productions in Georgia, whose rights, along with millions of others, will be severely restricted by this law,” said Sarandos in a statement.

The bill, that was passed earlier this month, will not come into force until January 2020. The ruling is a direct contradiction of the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade case which found that the constituitonal "right to privacy" protected the bodily autonomy of a pregnant woman.

The streaming service is the first major label in Hollywood to oppose the bill with Kristen Wiig, the director of Handmaid's Tale Reed Morano and Bridesmaids writer Annie Mumolo (who are all due to work on upcoming projects there) coming out against the bill.

Georgia offers tax incentives to filming companies, encouraging them to shoot their scenes in the state with blockbuster hits The Hunger Games and Black Panther being filmed there.

Netflix has previously shot shows Ozark and Stranger Things in the southern State.