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Supreme Court Refuses to Block Texas Abortion Ban; Rescues Underway After Ida's Remnants Unleash Deadly Floods. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 02, 2021 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[09:33:19]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: We continue to cover the devastating effects of Hurricane Ida as it swept through the Northeast overnight. You can see there, live pictures of entire communities that in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, still underwater several feet of water this morning, live rescues underway there.

But also breaking overnight. The Supreme Court formerly refused to block Texas' new abortion ban, the most restrictive abortion law in this country effectively makes abortion illegal in the country's second most populous state. It prohibits abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, which is really around the time when women might first discover they're pregnant at all. We should note this as well. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, no exceptions. The decision was five to four with Chief Justice John Roberts actually joining the three liberal justices in dissent. CNN's Supreme Court Reporter Ariane de Vogue has been following this very closely.

Ariane, this is an enormous, enormous decision, one the six-week time limit here to no exception for abortion for rape or incest. The question is, is this just about Texas or does this mean a first step towards overturning Roe v. Wade?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: What we learn in this order last night is of course the fragility of Roe v. Wade, right? So, there's five for order, it comes down at midnight. And basically, this Texas law is one of the most strict across the country. There's no other law like that any federal court has ever allowed to remain on the books. And basically, we saw that Chief Justice John Roberts no fan of abortion.

SCIUTTO: Yep.

[09:35:00]

DE VOGUE: Right. Joins with the liberals here. And the liberals were just furious about what happened. This is what Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in dissent. She said, the court's order is stunning, presented with an application

to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand.

So, there you have the liberals really calling out not only the Texas legislature for passing this law that was put on the books because they knew it would be so hard to challenge, but she's also calling out her own colleagues. And that shows what's coming up in the months to come.

SCIUTTO: It has a big effect, you hear of women, their clinics complying already. So, they have to leave the state now, in effect to get an abortion. The court has agreed to take up -- this is an unusual case and that they do it on their shadow docket. I didn't actually hear arguments, questions, et cetera. But they have agreed to take Mississippi law, which has a 15 week, I believe, is the is the limit there. Is that where we hear most likely a more comprehensive Supreme Court decision on the future of Roe v. Wade?

DE VOGUE: Well, that's what we think, right? I mean, today in Texas, before we even get to the Mississippi law, it is almost impossible to get an abortion, even though Roe v. Wade is on the books.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, still the law of the land.

DE VOGUE: Right. And so later on this term, the justices had already decided to take up this case. And that is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. And then we're going to have the briefs, the friend of the court briefs, we're going to have oral arguments, and then we're going to have the opinion. So, by then we're going to see really, how far this conservative majority is ready to go. But it will come at the time that for all intents and purposes, you can't even get an abortion already in Texas.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

DE VOGUE: That's what's interesting, and that's what's changed second.

SCIUTTO: Most popular state notably, almost a year to the day after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. And that last minute confirmation as Trump was going out.

Ariane de Vogue, thanks very much.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is the President and CEO of the Center of Reproductive Rights, Nancy Northup. Nancy, thanks so much for joining us morning.

NANCY NORTHUP, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: Thank you. I'm just devastated actually to be on here this morning. Because the Supreme Court's decision last night was, I think one of the most ingenuous decisions I've ever read. And basically, one long paragraph, the majority, you know, turned aside the rule of law, the Constitution, and the people in Texas, and with consequences that are going to be just horrendous. It's only been one day since this law has been in effect. And already, right clinics have been overwhelmed with people wondering what can I do and where can I go?

And, you know, at this moment I have -- yes?

SCIUTTO: I do want to ask about where they do go? I mean, there's already talk of taking people out of state, but on the national implications of this, it's significant enough, as you note, second most populous state in the land, its abortions effectively illegal today. Do you, are you concerned, though, that this is a first last battle in a larger war, that this is a first step towards the overturning of Roe v Wade and more severe national restrictions on abortion rights?

NORTHUP: Look, of course, we're really concerned. I mean, the Center for Reproductive Rights is litigating this Texas case, we're litigating the Mississippi case in 11 days, we're turning on our brief in the Mississippi case where they've asked to overturn Roe vs. Wade. We have another, you know, two dozen cases on our docket. And yes, we expect with the Supreme Court just did two in bold in other states, and frankly, other conservative circuit courts to completely ignore Roe versus Wade. I mean, right now, Roe v. Wade is a dead letter in the state of Texas, right? It is still the law of the land has been for almost 50 years. And yet it has no effect for the women in the state right now. So of course, we're incredibly concerned. And I just want to say right now, you know, it is important for people understand Congress can fix this.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

NORTHUP: There is a bill, the Women's Health Protection Act that would address these kinds of bans and restrictions that have taken us up to the Supreme Court, three times in the last five years. And so, it's really important to realize that Congress has the power right now to send to the President's desk, the Women's Health Protection Act that address what is happening in the States right now.

SCIUTTO: We know that Vice President Harris, she's been involved in those efforts in the past, the president released an excoriating statement last night on the Supreme Court's decision here. Have you had conversations though, with congressional leaders about a path forward for that, of course it would run into the filibuster again, couldn't get through the House, unlikely to get 10 Republican votes but always has the option of breaking the filibuster on something like this.

[09:40:09]

I'm curious, we know Congress could codify this. But are you having serious discussions? Do you believe that Democratic leaders are serious and can do so?

NORTHUP: We are absolutely having those conversations. And there are the votes to pass it in the House. There are 48 co-sponsors in the Senate, that was on the day of introduction. And, you know, it's just a very dynamic atmosphere out there. And I think what happened last night, literally in the dead of night, at midnight by the Supreme Court changes the dynamics right now, because all eyes are on the branches of government that can do something to protect women and pregnant people across the nation. And that is the Congress and the White House.

SCIUTTO: What do women in Texas do now, and going forward, really, in other states where this might happen, they would have to leave the state. But for many women, I imagine they don't have the means to, so what happens to them?

NORTHUP: And that is what is so heartbreaking, and devastating is that this is going to fall hardest on those people who already have barriers to accessing health care. And that is people on low incomes, communities of color, rural people living in rural communities, and that is true in Texas. But I will say, you know, the community is really strong in being able to do whatever we can. And you've got organizations on the ground in Texas, who helped to facilitate women leaving the states. People should call if your viewers are in Texas, before they do anything, call your local clinics, they're there to answer the phones and try to help out. They're open. They're open for that very small amount of people who can access before six weeks, but also to help people get connected.

But it's -- you know, not a solution to suggest that people can leave the state of Texas, people don't have the means to do so. We are in the middle of a pandemic. And it is just really cruel, as I said in one long paragraph what the Supreme Court did last night.

SCIUTTO: And a notable detail, of course, right is that anyone can sue anyone now in the state of Texas for aiding a woman in any way to get an abortion. Nancy Northup, the CEO of the Center for Reproductive rights, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

NORTHUP: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: We continue to follow the breaking news this morning on the weather state of emergency in New York and New Jersey. Look at that there, that's in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, a street that has become a river and live rescues underway. They're going door-to-door and inflatable boats to find people whose lives are in danger. We're going to bring you more.

Ida's effect also still being felt. In Louisiana, of course, we're first struck, nearly a million people today are still without power. Residents are scrambling for food, basic supplies. A lot of homes simply washed away. We're going to speak to the president of a parish and one of the hardest hit areas.

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[09:47:34]

SCIUTTO: Rescues still underway in the northeast after deadly flooding overnight, many people still endanger. this video is from just moments ago in Center City, Pennsylvania at a river overflowing its banks there and a lot of homes inundated as a result.

CNN's Allison Chinchar with us now. Allison, you can give us a big bird's eye view, right of exactly how extensive this flooding was. It's remarkable because this was the concern, right? That Ida, the winds were slowing down, the rain was not. How far and why did we see effects like this?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. I mean, that's the thing that I think people need to realize like the National Weather Service to both the local office in New York and Philadelphia, they did a phenomenal job of getting that message out days ago saying this was a likelihood that we were going to get very heavy rain, that we were going to get tornadoes and that became a reality.

The one thing to note with a lot of these things, though, especially when you show some of these videos of the incredible rivers and creeks and streams that are just overflowing their banks right now is you have to understand for a lot of these, they haven't even crested yet. There are some of them that will not crest for several more hours from now, which means that's the peak, meaning they're going to continue to rise for a couple more hours before finally starting to come back down. Because with river flooding, it's a delayed effect. It's not like you have with flooding in the streets, or things like that, where the water rises very quickly, but can also go back down very quickly. Rivers are a different entity.

So, for a lot of these communities where your homes and your businesses are right there along the riverbank, it may take several more hours for the water to rise before it comes back down. And it's also a delayed impact when it comes back down for some of these communities. It could take days for that water to get back down to normal levels on some of these rivers, creeks and streams, especially that area between Philadelphia and New York City specifically that area in between those two cities is where we really saw the majority of rainfall really the last 24 hours, widespread locations from Baltimore all the way to Boston, you're talking six to 10 inches of rain, and for so many communities that came down, and those may be 24 hour totals but for a lot of those areas, some of that came down in just three to six hours. So, it was a lot of rain in a very short period of time.

Now again, the sun is out. This will help the fact that the rain is starting to push out, the fact that the majority of the storm is now over open waters of the Atlantic. This will help but it takes time, Jim, unfortunate for some of these communities, it could be days before they really have the opportunity to get back in and clean up their homes and businesses.

[09:50:17]

SCIUTTO: Could be days. That is remarkable. You know, Allison, the phrase 100-year flood, once in a lifetime record rainfall, I feel like I am repeating that every day, right? In various parts of the country, and then on the flip side, of course, record drought. Give us a climate perspective on this, because it's not in direct connection to discuss how this fits the models of climate change, more severe storms, more severe drought, tell us about the connection.

CHINCHAR: So that's the whole point of climate change is it's taking events that would normally occur and making them more extreme. It's not to say that hurricanes never happened in the past or that drought has never happened in recorded history. What it's basically saying is that because of climate change, because of the fact that we are warming the atmosphere at an alarming rate, those individual events are going to become more extreme, especially in the case of things like this, these tropical systems, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. So, by that definition, when the storms come in, they're able to dump a tremendous amount of moisture, because that water has to go somewhere, and gravity proves to us that it must come down.

And so unfortunately, that's what you're seeing with a lot of these communities, is you're seeing these tropical systems dump tremendous amount of rains were one year we're breaking a record only to have that record be broken the year after or the year after that, just because these events are becoming more and more frequent. So yes, when you hear about these record events, or the storms that are dumping tremendous amounts of rain, well then yes. On the other side of the country, we're dealing with drought, that is climate change it basically the point is, because of the atmosphere is warmer, we're going to start to see these events become more frequently and more extreme.

SCIUTTO: And we've seen it happen before our eyes. Follow the science folks, Allison Chinchar. Thanks very much.

So, here's another community inundated by water. This is New Brunswick, New Jersey River overflowing its banks there and all those homes and businesses impacted as a result.

This storm has really become a national event. Right now, hundreds of 1000s of people in Louisiana are still reeling in the wake of Hurricane Ida, of course, it hit their first. Nearly a million residents there, still without power in the state. The heat remains oppressive. Look at that damage in the aftermath. Many are scrambling to find basic supplies, gas, fuel food, this video from CNN affiliate WDSU showing 1000s of people 1000s lined up for food and water in the hard-hit St. Charles Parish. My next guest is the president of Lafourche Parish. It is one of the most devastated areas right along the coastline.

Archie Chaisson, thanks so much for joining me. You have said you estimate about a quarter one in four of all homes in Lafourche Parish along the coast they were completely destroyed another 50% some damage. I mean, that's three quarters. Did you know at this point, how many lives were lost? How many still missing?

ARCHIE CHAISSON, PRESIDENT OF LAFOURCHE PARISH LOUISIANA (through): So, good morning. Thank you for having us this morning. We have zero reported fatalities. We have just about completed all of our search and rescue missions. And we have zero fatalities, which is an awesome thing.

We do have complete devastation over the bottom third of our parish, we had sustained winds for 12 hours upwards of 130 miles an hour. And that will tear any structure to pieces no matter how you build it or how old that structure is. So, we are in the process of setting up our points of distribution to get our residents food and water and ice and tarps so we can begin the process of dry proofing which structures remain. We are in the process of the watering three separate communities that have taken on water due to overtopping of our levee systems. The storm surge here was upwards of 14 feet. And it did cross some flood walls and things like that.

WILLIAMS: 14 feet, I always remind people storm surge is vertical right? That's 14 feet high, imagine the wall of water. These are communities that are continually battered by storms like this. They're low lying. Can they be rebuilt, should they?

CHAISSON: Yes, we have -- look we have a magnificent levee system here. There are no homes that flooded in our southeast community. We have 18-foot levees most of the rounds. A lot of the damage in the deep part of our southern part of our parish was wind driven. The area that's the same the flooding, were north where the levees are not as high because we've never had to face the storm like this. We will rebuild. We will rebuild bigger and better Community. Cajuns are very resilient, people that are rallying around their neighbors and doing what they can to help out their neighbors.

[09:55:07]

Debris contractors are already mobilizing in our parish, our biggest concentration right now is getting a potable water system finally back up. There are two areas left in our parish that still do not have any source of potable water due to the loss and water pressure due to damage lines from trees being ripped out of the ground and things like that. So once that happens, hopefully today, our parish, our parish will be almost back to normal when it comes to water service, which will allow people to have sanitary services, and although their showers are going to be cold that will allow people to start gathering their thoughts and things like that again,

SCIUTTO: You're right, I would never bet against Cajun on anything. And one of the good stories from this storm in New Orleans, for instance, is that the levees-built post Katrina, they did hold, and they held back the water. I just wonder though, because the lesson from all these storms, whether you're in Louisiana, or up in New York, right is that each one is bigger than the last. Each one seems to set a record to be 100 year or 1000-year flood. I just wonder, can you keep building the levees higher? I mean, how do you prepare for the next one?

CHAISSON: You learn lessons, right? And I think we're learning lessons every day. We're making small steps forward and keeping the momentum going every day. And I think the lessons learned from this storm will help us to build our communities more resilient. Like after Katrina, we had the international building code coming in and we built houses stronger and better. And those houses that were built post Katrina, in local parish, are much better off than the ones who were built for you for those international building code requirements coming into the state of Louisiana. So, we've proven that advances can happen. We can learn lessons from different events. And we're going to we're going to put this place back together.

SCIUTTO: That is good to hear, the stronger houses they held up. Well, Archie Chaisson, we do know you got a lot of work to do down there. And we hope you're able to get all the things that folks need to the people most in need. Thanks so much.

CHAISSON: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: From the Lafourche Parish down on the coast of Louisiana.

Minutes from now we are expecting to hear from the Governor of New Jersey, the mayor of New York City in the next hour on that deadly flooding in the northeast. Stay with us. We have so much more to share in our special live coverage.

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[10:00:01]

SCIUTTO: Very good Thursday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.