Texas governor signs law banning abortion as early as six weeks
19 May 2021
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday signed into law a bill that bans abortions as early as six weeks and before many people know they are pregnant, the Texas Tribune reports.
Why it matters: Senate Bill 8 lets almost anyone — including people with no connection to the person getting the abortion — sue abortion providers who look to perform the procedure after the time limit.
- The bill bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks and does not provide an exception for rape or incest.
The big picture: Other states have passed so-called "heartbeat" bills, but they have been mostly blocked by federal courts, per the Texas Tribune.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.