Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger said it would be "very difficult" for the United States-based media company to keep filming in Georgia if a new abortion law takes effect because many people would not want to work in the state. Disney has filmed blockbuster movies in Georgia such as Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame, and it would be a blow to the state's efforts to create production jobs if the entertainment giant stopped filming there, reported aljazeera.com.

Georgia's Republican governor signed into law on May 7 a ban on abortion after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat - about six weeks into a pregnancy before many women know they are pregnant. The law is due to take effect on January 1, if it survives court challenges.

Asked if Disney would keep filming in Georgia, Iger said it would be "very difficult to do so" if the abortion law was implemented.

"I rather doubt we will," Iger told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday ahead of the dedication for a new Star Wars section at Disneyland. "I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully."

If the law takes effect, "I don't see how it's practical for us to continue to shoot there," he added. Georgia is one of eight states to pass anti-abortion legislation this year for the purpose of inducing the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that established a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy.