'The Wire' creator David Simon says he will not shoot HBO series in Texas over abortion law

"The Wire" creator David Simon announced an upcoming HBO series will not shoot in Texas as planned after the state passed a controversial abortion law.

"As an employer, this is beyond politics," he tweeted. "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?"

Simon continued to publicize his position against the law that prohibits a woman from getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy in a series of tweets starting on Monday and responded to Twitter users trolling his decision. 

"If only you submorons could limit yourself to decisions about what to do with your own bodies, we might endure as a republic. Instead, your code has you using hack politicians to crawl into every womb you can reach," Simon tweeted in response to a user.

The Dallas Films & Creative Industries Office caught wind of the tweet and responded by saying the laws of the state do not reflect the views of the 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," the account tweeted. 

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Simon told the office it misunderstood his original tweet and his decision to not film in the state was rooted in protecting civil liberties, not a political boycott. 

"My singular responsibility is to securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production," he tweeted.

"My company is asking for the labor of women. They are all entitled to film where their basic rights remain intact," he tweeted Thursday morning. 

Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation known as the "fetal heartbeat" bill in May. It allows private citizens to sue anyone who aids or abets abortions that are performed once a heartbeat is detected, and it's one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation.

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Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.