David Simon, creator of beloved HBO series 'The Wire' and 'The Deuce,' will not move forward with filming an upcoming series in Texas due to the state's newly passed abortion law.
Simon announced the news Monday, writing on Twitter that his decision goes 'beyond politics.'
'I'm turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can't and won't ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth?' he wrote.
David Simon, creator of beloved HBO series 'The Wire' and 'The Deuce,' announced on Twitter he will not be moving forward with filming an upcoming series in Texas due to the state's newly passed abortion law
In a response to Simon's tweet that same day, the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office, formerly known as the Dallas Film Commission wrote: 'Laws of a state are not reflective of its entire population. Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big 'D') only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay & vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living.'
Simon responded to the commission's tweet writing: You misunderstand completely. My response is NOT rooted in any debate about political efficacy or the utility of any boycott. My singular responsibility is to securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production […] if even one of our employees requires full control of her own body and choices — and if a law denies this or further criminalizes our attempt to help her exercise that control, we should have filmed elsewhere.'
While the new HBO series has not formally been announced, Simon is currently working on an additional limited series about corruption in the Boston Police System titled, 'We Own This City.'
US actress Uma Thurman, in a newspaper column expressing opposition to a new Texas law restricting abortion, revealed that she had an abortion while in her teens
Abortion rights activists at the Texas state capitol in Austin
He is one of many Hollywood A-listers to publicly criticize the GOP-backed Texas law.
His decision came a day before actress Uma Thurman wrote a Washington Post op-ed outlining her opposition towards the bill in which she revealed having an abortion as a teenager after having sex with a 'much older man'.
During her open letter, Thurman - who now has three children - admitted the 'hard' decision gave her the opportunity to 'grow up and become the mother she is today'.
The actress wrote: 'The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me anguish then and that saddens me even now, but it was the path to the life full of joy and love that I have experienced.
The 'Kill Bill' actress said she sees the law 'with great sadness and something akin to horror' she penned the revealing piece 'in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away from the vulnerable women on whom this law will have an immediate effect.'
The 'Texas Heartbeat Act' bans abortion once a heartbeat can be detected, which usually occurs at six weeks -- before many women even know they are pregnant. It makes no exceptions for rape or incest.
The bill passed by Republican lawmakers in Texas, the country's second-largest state, allows members of the public to sue doctors who perform abortions after six weeks or anyone who facilitates the procedure.
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