Filmmakers move production out of Arkansas over state’s abortion trigger law

A film production company is relocating from Arkansas in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to overturn Roe v. Wade, which now allows the GOP-led state’s abortion trigger law to take effect.

The movie, “Eric Larue,” will now instead film in North Carolina, where abortion is still legal with some restrictions, FOX 16 in Little Rock reported.

Arkansas’ trigger law bans nearly all abortions in the state, and does not allow exceptions in cases of rape and incest. The law only permits the procedure when it is necessary to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency.

The law makes it a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 or 10 years in prison, or both, for doctors who perform abortions. The restriction does not target abortion patients.

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In North Carolina, on the other hand, abortion remains legal even after the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, a state law that has previously been blocked in court could prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. 

And the state already has some abortion restrictions, including a mandated three-day waiting period before a woman can receive the procedure, a ban on the use of telemedicine to administer abortion medication and the requirement that a patient must first undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion.

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The more relaxed abortion laws in North Carolina made it a more attractive destination for the producers of “Eric Larue,” the screen adaptation of the stage play under the same name. The play was written by Brett Neveu and debuted in 2002 at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago.

The play was created in response to the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Actor Michael Shannon will make his directorial debut with the film, which follows the mother of the 17-year-old gunman who fatally shot three of his classmates, and centers on how people cope with trauma.