Swalwell says CNN may have to move Atlanta headquarters over anti-abortion law

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Major media studios rethinking production in Georgia over abortion law

Disney considers Georgia boycott; Raymond Arroyo breaks down his 'Friday Follies.'

Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Democratic presidential hopeful, said in a town hall Sunday that CNN might have to consider moving its headquarters from Atlanta over Georgia’s new abortion law that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Swalwell, who has been working on separating himself from a crowded Democratic field, was greeted by applause during the CNN town hall when he said that women’s reproductive rights would be a top priority as president. He said he would appoint justices who uphold the law and he would work to repeal the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal Medicare funding for abortion services.

Jim Sciutto, the CNN moderator, asked about companies threatening to halt business in the state known as “Hollywood of the South” or “Y’allywood” due to its attractive tax incentives for production.

“Yeah, if that law goes into effect and CNN might have to move,” he said. “There’s a lot of young women who work at CNN who’ll be affected.”

Swallwell, a vocal critic of President Trump, has had a challenging time attracting momentum early on in the 2020 contest.

Netflix blinked first and now other major Hollywood studios say they may reevaluate filming in Georgia if the state's abortion law goes into effect.

WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Walt Disney Co. followed the streaming service's lead last week with a deluge of statements, breaking a three-week silence from the big players in entertainment on the controversial law that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks.

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"If the new law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new productions," read a statement from WarnerMedia Thursday.

The subsidiary of AT&T also oversees TBS, TNT and CNN.

The Associated Press contributed to this report