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West Hollywood Is Protesting Georgia's 6-Week Abortion Ban
A protester holds a sign at a pro-choice rally in West Hollywood (Photo by Emily Dugdale/LAist)
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As more and more states vote to pass highly restrictive abortion bans, city officials in West Hollywood are taking a stand.
The West Hollywood City Council voted unanimously on Monday to pass a resolution that would suspend official travel to Georgia and look into cutting ties with any Georgia-based businesses that work with the City of West Hollywood, as long as the law remains in effect.
Georgia legislators passed a bill which would prohibit abortions at six weeks, often before a person knows they're pregnant. The timeline would be longer in cases of rape or incest.
At a rally on Tuesday, the city's Mayor Pro Tempore Lindsey Horvath spoke out about the resolution.
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"We will not conduct the city's business in places that do not honor, respect and protect a woman's right to choose," she said. "We will not spend taxpayer dollars on goods, services or travel in or from any state that undermines women's health, dignity and privacy, and we denounce any and all efforts to endanger the lives of women and girls who cannot survive a pregnancy physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially."
West Hollywood's rally was one of at least nine events happening in the L.A. area as part of the national #StopTheBans day of action. Other events were scheduled to take place in Pasadena, DTLA, Beverly Hills and more.
The motion isn't the first local action taken around the recent wave of anti-choice bills. Three film and television production companies announced last week that they would not shoot in Georgia, with more following suit by the day. The announcements come on the heels of a call from Los Angeles Times columnist Mary Mcnamara for the industry to leave the state.
According to The New York Times, eight states have passed new, highly restrictive laws on regulating abortion care this year, with more pending. Some ban the procedure at or around six weeks, at which time the tissue that will develop into a fetus' heart may be detectable by a medical professional.
Alabama's new law, passed last week, is the most restrictive, banning abortions from the point of conception. It also makes performing an abortion a felony for doctors, who would face up to 99 years in prison.
Many architects of bans such as those that were passed in Alabama and Georgia have acknowledged that they are part of a larger plan to challenge Roe v. Wade at the Supreme Court level.
Emily Dugdale contributed reporting to this story.
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