Actress Alyssa Milano has called for a sex strike to protest Georgia’s new anti-abortion law that Governor Brian Kemp signed into law on Tuesday. The new controversial law, which will go into effect on January 1, prohibits abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is roughly about six weeks into pregnancy.
Georgia is the latest of several states to sign into law the piece of legislation dubbed the “heartbeat bill,” and Charmed actress Alyssa Milano took to Twitter late last night to call for a sex strike as a way of protesting the law
Our reproductive rights are being erased.
Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy.
JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back.
I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on. pic.twitter.com/uOgN4FKwpg
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 11, 2019
Hollywood has kicked against Georgia’s new restrictive abortion law, with many A-list stars calling for the TV and film industry to boycott the state. Many feel that boycott of the state by the entertainment industry will be effective because many films and TV shows are filmed in Georgia due to the generous tax incentives the state offers.
Blockbuster movies such as Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain America were filmed entirely or partly in Georgia. Popular TV shows such The Walking Dead and Stranger Things were also filmed in the state.
Governor Brian Kemp confirmed last year that Georgia earned about $2.7 billion from more than 450 productions in the state.
In response to the call for a film and TV show boycott of Georgia, heads of three production companies announced yesterday that they will stop filming in the state.
David Simon of Blown Deadline Productions (The Wire, The Deuce), Christine Vachon of Killer Films (Far From Heaven, Boys Don’t Cry), and Mark Duplass of Duplass Brothers Productions (The Skeleton Twins, Room 104), announced they will stop filming in Georgia in protest of the new abortion law.
However, Alyssa Milano suggested a new way to protest Georgia’s restrictive anti-abortion law. She wants women to go on sex strike until the state rescinds the law.
“Our reproductive rights are being erased. Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy,” Milano tweeted last night. “Join me by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.”
Twitter has been reacting to Milano’s call for a sex boycott in protest of Georgia’s abortion law. The reactions are mixed. Some Twitter users supported the call, while others appeared confused about how Milano expected that a sex strike would help her cause, and others mocked.
— Ayyy lmao (@SloppyHands) May 11, 2019
I didn’t think Alyssa Milano was smart enough to solve the abortion issue! Sex strike by women who support abortion! Fantastic!
— Brian Donovan (@Bad1757Brian) May 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/vulpesc0rvum/status/1127185685516050437
#SexStrike There will be alot of Heavy Nuts this week. pic.twitter.com/39b3VpXg36
— Ron 6 FEET Swansonn (@iquoteronswan) May 11, 2019
It’s too bad #ResponsibleSex isn’t trending instead of #SexStrike ?? pic.twitter.com/YC5SIVTgga
— Kiki Midwest XX ??Is a Democrat (@BonaparteKiki) May 11, 2019
We’re going on a sex strike which will result in fewer abortions. Owned, cons. https://t.co/tzMvXKv7aF
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 11, 2019
Alyssa Milano blocked me last year but I hear she’s calling for a sex strike over abortion … so in other words, she’s promoting abstinence.
Which ultimately prevents abortion.
I say good for her. ?
— The?FOO (@PolitiBunny) May 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/artemisia_locke/status/1127186381246214144
Although I am against #Georgia bill #HB481 I don’t think this #sexstrike would work.
1. It punishes guys like me that disagree with the bill
2. There are plenty of women willing to cross the #picket line https://t.co/hiUKmVvw8t— Dash Ripcock (@RipcockD) May 11, 2019
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 11, 2019
Well, that’ll be easy for me. ?
— Frances Fisher (@Frances_Fisher) May 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/MaryMcDonnell10/status/1127080544183799810
The use of “sex strike” to draw attention to issues affecting women is not a new concept. In Aristophanes’ comedy Lysistrata, women go on a sex strike to force their husbands to end the Peloponnesian war.