Media giants Netflix and Disney are being urged to boycott Northern Ireland as the abortion row in Hollywood spread to the UK.

The powerful broadcasters have come under pressure from pro-choice campaigners to stop filming there because of it's strict laws on terminating a pregnancy.

In the US both Netflix and Disney have joined more than 100 film stars by threatening to withdraw from the state of Georgia over a proposed abortion ban.

But women's rights groups in the UK have pointed out that many actors and the two media giants had been happy to work in Northern Ireland, where woman who have an abortion can face life in jail.

Kerry Abel, chairman of the Abortion Rights charity in the UK said filmmakers should consider Northern Ireland in 'the same light' as Georgia.

In the US both Netflix (pictured, its offices in Los Angeles) and Disney have joined more than 100 film stars by threatening to withdraw from the state of Georgia over a proposed abortion ban.

Disney (pictured, the firm's HQ in Burbank, California) has come under pressure from pro-choice campaigners to stop filming in Northern Ireland

The film industry has boomed in Northern Ireland since it was chosen as the setting for Game of Thrones.

Recent movies have included The Lost City of Z, and High-Rise.

Ms Abel told the Daily Telegraph: 'Those benefiting from tax breaks in Northern Ireland, the likes of Netflix and Disney, should know that women who pay their taxes are not getting access to healthcare on the NHS for their abortions.

'If they think that it is not acceptable to operate in Georgia they should consider Northern Ireland in the same light.'

Abortions are illegal in Northern Ireland except in cases where a woman's health is at risk, or if having a baby would leave her a 'physical or mental wreck'.

The row over new anti abortion laws has sparked mass protests across the US. Pictured: Activists in Montgomery, Alabama

The film industry has boomed in Northern Ireland since it was chosen as the setting for Game of Thrones (pictured)

In 2017 almost 1,000 women from Northern Ireland travelled to England and Wales to terminate their pregnancies.

According to the Telegraph it is understood that Netflix executives believe the situation is different in Northern Ireland because women have been denied abortions there for hundreds of years, while women in Georgia stand to have their rights taken away.

Georgia's Republican governor Brian Kemp signed the 'heartbeat bill' into law on May 7 and it is due to take effect on January 1 if it survives court challenges.

The passage of the bill in Georgia has sparked outrage in Hollywood, as it is the country's top movie-making location with a film industry worth £7.5billion a year and which generates 92,000 jobs.

Chief content officer Ted Sarandos (left) said that Netflix would 'rethink our entire investment in Georgia 'if legislation known as the 'heartbeat bill' came into effect. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger (pictured with the actor Chris Hemsworth, right) said it would be 'very difficult' for the company to keep filming in Georgia if the abortion law went through

The popular Netflix series Stranger Things was filmed in Georgia

Producers of movies including box-office smashes Black Panther, The Hunger Games and Avengers: Infinity War have been lured there by tax breaks.

Actors including Amy Schumer, Ben Stiller and Alec Baldwin have signed a letter warning they would 'do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women.'

Netflix have said it will be 'rethinking' its entire operation and would wok with groups to contest the law in court.

It currently has five projects filming in the state: The Liberator, Christmas on the Square, Holidate, Season 2 of Insatiable and Season 3 of Ozark.

On Wednesday hundreds of abortion-rights advocates took to the streets to protest the anti-abortion legislation. Protesters pictured on May 22

Protestors walk to the Alabama State Capitol on Sunday in protest about new anti abortion laws

The money-spinning hit series Stranger Things has previously used Atlanta and Jackson in Georgia as locations for filming.

Netflix executive Ted Sarandos said: 'We have many women working on productions in Georgia whose rights, along with millions of others', will be severely restricted by this law.'

Disney's chief executive Bob Iger said: 'Many people who work for us will not want to work there and we will have to heed their wishes. We are watching it very carefully.'

Yesterday WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal become the latest major Hollywood players to threaten to boycott Georgia as a filming location should its new restrictive abortion law be upheld.

WarnerMedia, which includes HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros. among its subsidiaries, is currently filming HBO's 'The Outsider' and 'Lovecraft Country,' and Warner Bros. film 'The Conjuring 3' in the state.

Production will also soon begin on a money-spinning Suicide Squad sequel.

Georgia governor Brian Kemp signing the 'heartbeat bill' into law

In a statements, WarnerMedia said: 'We will watch the situation closely and if the law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new productions.

'We operate and produce work in many states and within several countries at any given time and while that doesn't mean we agree with every position taken by a state or a country and their leaders, we do respect due process.'

Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal said in a separate statement: 'If any of these laws are upheld, it would strongly impact our decision making on where we produce our content in the future.

'We fully expect that the heartbeat bills and similar laws in various states will face serious legal challenges and will not go into effect while the process proceeds in court.'

Georgia is one of eight states to pass anti-abortion legislation this year for the purpose of inducing the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that established a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy.