The glut of new anti-choice, anti-abortion legislation is all part of a larger plan by anti-choice activists. First, they’re not just sticking to one state – they coordinated with several states, several governors, several state legislatures to offer different versions of “criminalizing abortion” to varying degrees. They’ll wait to see what sticks and which laws get slapped down by lower courts, and then the big circus happens: getting some of these new laws to be formally adjudicated by the Supreme Court. The goal is the end of Roe and the end of Griswold. The goal is not “the end of abortion and the end of birth control forever” – it’s just overturning those two SCOTUS rulings and allowing a free-for-all in individual states to make their own state-wide laws about women’s bodies. It’s about having no federal protection for a woman’s right to choose, or a woman’s right to bodily autonomy.
As I said, the train is already on the tracks. This has been the plan for decades and it’s not actually about which individual governors think or say about reproductive rights. If it’s not Georgia, it would be Louisiana. If not Louisiana, it would be Alabama, and if not Alabama, it would be Missouri. And on and on. All of which has left certain people in a quandary: should we offer any kind of economic support to the garbage states which are test-casing these laws? I don’t have an answer, but I think everyone should make up their own minds about it. Tiffany Haddish has made up her mind:
Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish has canceled her upcoming Atlanta performance because of Georgia’s new restrictive abortion law. News outlets report that the “Girls Trip” star sent a statement to ticketholders Saturday, saying she cannot “in good faith” perform in Georgia unless it withdraws the so-called heartbeat bill. Haddish had been scheduled to perform June 22 at the Fox Theatre.
The new law would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. Unless it’s blocked in court, it’s set to go into effect in 2020. The ACLU has already said the group will mount a legal challenge. Major Hollywood studios have said they may reevaluate filming in Georgia if the law goes into effect.
I’m proud of Tiffany for doing this – she presents herself as all about the hustle and all about making money, but here she is, standing up for women’s rights no matter what kind of backlash she might get. And trust me, she will get backlash. The same people who think they have a right to tell Tiffany what to do with her body will think they have a right to tell her she HAS to perform in Georgia. Or else what?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I want every possible boycott in place against these despicable laws. Tiffany did good. I hope more people do this, and I especially hope more men join the cause. These laws have consequences for men too but all the focus/pressure is on women. Reproductive rights are human rights and we all need to be fighting because this is an attack on everyone.
I doubt the people who are making anti-abortion laws and are “tell[ing] Tiffany what to do with her body” are the same people who would be in her audience. The conservatives probably don’t give a hoot if she comes.
Seriously, she canceled in Atlanta. The majority black firmly blue district. All this is doing is hurting the people who already align with their stance. Same with the Hollywood boycott. You aren’t hurting Georgia, you hurt ATLANTA and the state already gives less than two craps about them because its a thriving black economy. Actually harming the black community and economy in Atlanta would thrill these monsters.
I proudly took a trip to Atlanta with my daughter this weekend to shop in black owned businesses. I bought make up my shade, clothes cut for my body, my daughter got to experience the sight of a thriving black community where the nice boutiques have black owners. Where we live in the south they don’t get to see this. I will continue to make regular trips to Atlanta and put my money into my nearest black economy and black businesses.
This boycott is an idiots errand that doesn’t hurt anyone but Atlanta who actually aligns with the view. It is so frustrating.
Thank you for saying…EXACTLY what I was going to say…..and I will be doing the same in September…..THOUSANDS of folks are doing what needs to be done to ensure that THIS horror does not stay in place….
I understand how you feel, but in the end, it really does help.
I lived in Indiana when boycotts were threatened over Pence and his passing of RFRA. It made us all angry because it affected all of us. States can’t afford to lose the income that is generated by conventions, performances, companies, etc. It would force tax hikes and layoffs, and officials don’t want that, so it puts pressure on them to soften or change their stance.
It really is a dilemma. One wants to support the black community and Atlanta with its rich black cultural history, but also I can understand the desire to punish the state for its punitive laws. Those *sshole politicans just ruin everything for everyone.
This is a very short sighted viewpoint.
Kemp and his douchebag friends count every dollar made in GA and use them as bragging points in every election ad, economic marker, and every other marker to bolster up their numbers and further the idea that the state is running fine without “libruls” and their “librul” agenda.
Nevermind that Atlanta and their so called liberals bring more into the state than rural areas do.
There is no reason for Kemp and his ilk to reassess their position of Atlanta, and by extension the rest of the state, suffers nothing from this legislation.
People promised that if GA passed this bullshit, people would pull money out of the state. Kemp and Co didn’t believe it. They need a reason to see that it absolutely can and will happen.
Amen
Yes, she put her money where her mouth is. Meanwhile, Netflix & other studios say if the law goes into effect, they will revisit the issue. What?! I get that the logistics for them (since so many shows film in Atlanta) but come on. If no one stands up, the crazy right wing nuts win.
Kudos to Tiffany!
It’s funny you mention Netflix…Dave Chappel just filmed his Netflix special this week at the Tabernacle.
My friend was there. She walked out after he cracked jokes about Bourdain’s suicide and child molestation
Thank you for saying what I was thinking. I don’t particularly like Haddish, but I applaud that she’s taking a stand and voicing her opinion. I don’t agree with any government treating females of any age like property, like an incubator. There is no 100% effective contraception (except for abstinence…which will not be 100% adhered to by 100% of the breeding population who 100% do not want children). Another cruel twist is that some women don’t know that they are pregnant for numerous reasons, and do not get to use Plan B when it is effective. Unwanted pregnancy is a horrible thing for many, and sufferers should be able to decide what happens to their body.
At this point, let the trolls begin…
Plan b is only effective within 72 hours, if I remember correctly from using it years ago. Its usually used in rape cases, condom broke or no condom was used. But it’s used right away and not weeks after the fact
Sorry I should have put plan b is effective 72 hrs post intercourse
And even WITHIN the 72 hrs post-intercourse, Plan B is not ALWAYS effective at preventing pregnancy.
Very good point @shelley
Young girls and women of all ages really, need access to proper healthcare and education. Law makers dont get to decide who gets access to healthcare for say, cancer patients, they shouldnt get to decide who gets access to reproductive health.
I’m not trying to say contraceptive/birth control/abortion/reproductive health is the same as cancer. I’m just trying to point out that it’s all healthcare and people who arent experts shouldnt be allowed to make uninformed decisions when it comes to law.
Great, more people need to follow her example, women and men.
It is the right thing to do, and it does have an impact. When Pence passed RFRA in Indiana, it had an immediate impact. Conventions threatened to back out, as did performers. The NCAA looked elsewhere for their headquarters. The community and city leaders protested. Although the RFRA was not repealed, it was amended so that it could not be used as an instrument for discrimination by superseding local and state civil rights laws.
Hit them where it hurts. When the money stops flowing, people take notice.
Kemp doesn’t care if Hollywood boycotts. He sees it as a badge of honor. Conservatives are actually fine with less liberal thinking gaining traction in their districts. The boycott hurts people who believe in diversity and inclusivity. Leaving makes it more difficult for liberals to take over the state. If you leave, our numbers drop and the conservative, rural mentality of South Georgia prevails. But go on. I actually applaud those staying and contributing their profits to the ACLU/GA Dems/Planned Parenthood. That’s the only way to defeat this law, which will be defeated. That’s the whole freaking point. They want it to be challenged all the way up to SCOTUS. This law isn’t taking effect in January. It’s going to be long dragged out fight which dumb dumb Kemp will campaign on in his re-election bid.
Conservatives care when they lose money. Conservatives work in these theaters, on these sets, in these industries.
No they really don’t. Hollywood and Y’allywood are both super liberal. The city of Atlanta is liberal. Outside of 285, OTP, is a completely different world and it’s that world that voted Kemp in and will vote for him again bc he signed this law.
BUT I’m glad that this made headlines. It can be easy to forgive the hate that exists down here under the excuse of “but it’s always been that way”. I do find it ironic that in the most diverse section of the United States, old white men get to tell everyone what to do and decide what is right and what is wrong. We must empower and inform and change will follow.
This will hurt Atlanta which is not his constituency. It WILL reinforce the right wing crazies OTP. Please don’t abandon us. There are good people here and Atlanta is a lovely city that doesn’t deserve to be punished. We vote, we write, we protest….but we are single liberal city in a huge state of asshats.
People who don’t live or frequent the black economy of Atlanta don’t seem to comprehend how much the state hates Atlanta. Breaking that economy will ruin the blue uprising in the state and leave it to the red. Hurting Atlanta helps the GOP. You can’t compare it to other instances of boycotts because it isn’t the same.
I’m black and I live in a rural, white fight county for hours from Atlanta.
I don’t understand what should be done if an economic boycott won’t help, which I don’t believe anyway but let’s say for argument’s sake.
Just give all my coins to planned parenthood and hope for the best?
And do you really believe that dedicated blue voters who oppose these draconian and ass backwards laws will vote red because of the boycotts?
Thank you. Boycotting Atlanta might hurt African-Americans and liberals in the city but taking away a woman’s right to choose will hurt them more.
People seem to have forgotten the Montgomery bus boycott, or have never heard of it. Boycotting the bus system in Montgomery put a huge strain on the African-American community, especially Black women who used the buses to go to work as domestics. But those women walked and car-pooled and hitch-hiked and got rides from the White women they worked for. They did what they had to do to keep the boycott going. AND THEY WON. Those nameless, faceless women were American heroines. Tiffany Haddish is honouring their memory and I love her for it.
People get hurt in boycotts. But if people aren’t willing to endure a little pain for WHAT’S RIGHT, then the deplorables win.