Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Supreme Court Releases Order That Allowed Texas Abortion Ban; Supreme Court Denies Emergency Requests By Pro-Abortion Orgs To Stop Texas Law; Louisiana Residents Scramble To Find Food, Water, Gas As 900K Without Power; Four People Dead In Flooding At New Jersey Apartment Complex. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 02, 2021 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

JOAN BISKUPIC, SUPREME COURT ANALYST: And the dissenter said this was a very clever ploy by the state legislature in Texas to essentially shield state officials from lawsuit.

The state essentially deputized individual citizens to bring these kinds of cases to go ahead and try to challenge anybody who would assist a woman in trying to obtain an abortion after six weeks.

And that was quite a device to initially at this point at least evade judicial scrutiny.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal dissenters here to say essentially, why are we allowing this kind of device to take effect right now?

Why don't we hold off, have full briefing, have oral arguments, and try to scrutinize this very unusual, as he deemed it, unprecedented law.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: And his inability to at least convince the other conservatives in this iteration of the court, what does that tell us about his role in this new -- this new court?

BISKUPIC: Well, Victor, he played such an unusual role here because he's a conservative who was appointed by George W. Bush 16 years ago this month. He's always opposed abortion rights in cases.

But in this situation his message was this court has gone too far.

What he tried to persuade his more conservative colleagues to do is just wait, hit the pause button here, try to examine what's going on.

Rather than to lunge far to the right and essentially send the signal that it sent, that Roe v. Wade has been undermined nationwide as well as almost essentially stopped in Texas.

I think your question goes to a very real issue going forward. How much control will this court that informally bears the name of John Roberts, the Roberts' court, really have him in charge here? For many, many months, the last couple of years after Justice Anthony

Kennedy had retired, the chief justice had sat at the center of the court and also held the ideological center of this court.

So he had a lot of power. He was in the majority in virtually every important case.

And what we're seeing now with the five conservatives to his right, including three appointees of Donald Trump, he no longer has that power.

Last night's ruling -- last night's order from the court could really be a sign of what is to come, whether it is John Roberts' court or perhaps it is more of a Donald Trump court.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Thank you, Joan, for the reporting.

BISKUPIC: Thank you.

Our next guests represents two of the plaintiffs in the case. Their emergency requests to stop the Texas law were denied last night by the Supreme Court.

Alexis McGill is the president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Marc Hearron is the lead attorney for reproductiverights.org.

Thank you both for your time. Great to talk to you.

Marc, I want to start with you.

As Joan said, it sounds like the Supreme Court didn't buy your argument. Were you surprised and do you understand their logic when they say there's no injury here?

MARC HEARRON, LEAD ATTORNEY, REPRODUCTIVERIGHTS.ORG.: Well, let me say, first, this is a devastating day for patients across Texas. Clinics are being forced to comply with this six-week ban, which is a near total ban on abortion.

Patients are calling clinics, desperate, trying to find -- I know that one of my clients had a call from a rape survivor calling the hotline, trying to get access to abortion, and they had to be turned away because they're too late, they're after six weeks.

What the Supreme Court did last night was essentially allow the state of Texas to get around the Constitution, to evade the constitutional limits and evade individual rights.

I think that that should -- that should terrify anyone no matter what your view on abortion is, because, if a state can simply make the exercise of any constitutional right illegal and then allow someone to sue you for exercising that right, then all of our rights are at risk.

CAMEROTA: Marc, very quickly, I mean, it sounds like you didn't expect it to go this way. You expected the Supreme Court to what? HEARRON: We weren't sure exactly what the Supreme Court would do. But

this is the first time that the Supreme Court has allowed a six-week ban, a pre-viability gestational ban to take effect when it has been challenged since Roe in nearly 15 years.

So this is extraordinary that now the Supreme Court has allowed the state of Texas to enact a near total ban on abortion throughout the state.

You know, we gave the court a menu of different options that the court could have taken to allow us to get back in the district court.

We had a hearing scheduled for Monday so that the district court could have enjoined the enforcement of the law, put the law on hold just like Chief Justice Roberts was saying. And, you know, the intermediate court, the Fifth Circuit blocked our attempt to do that.

[14:35:05]

We had given the Supreme Court many options and, instead, they decided to do nothing.

CAMEROTA: Alexis, what does this mean for women across Texas and across the country today?

ALEXIS MCGILL, PRESIDENT & CEO, PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Well, what it means for the people of Texas is that roe is effectively meaningless. It means that Texas has been allowed to turn the clock back 50 years and the Supreme Court let them get away with it.

What it means for other states who are watching what is happening in Texas, who may be poised because their state lawmakers have their eyes on more significant anti-abortion bans, that they will be also engaging in copycat legislation.

You know, we are looking at upwards of 26 states that are poised to enact in their state legislatures this year if this law is continued in the courts.

So it is outrageous, the fact that there's been no injury, right?

What Marc is talking about are patients who have been incredibly vulnerable, who now have to travel out of state, who have to find childcare, who have to find resources in order to get out of state to get access to their constitutional right.

And it is alarming and it is horrific and it is maddening.

CAMEROTA: Alexis, one follow up. You tweeted yesterday, to be clear, quote, "Planned Parent health centers remain open and we're here to help Texans navigate in dangerous law."

Meaning what? I mean are your providers prepared to take on -- you know, rack up these $10,000 fines to help women who need help?

MCGILL: To be clear, Planned Parenthood centers are open. We provide a variety of care for our patients in reproductive health.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Yes, but I mean speaking of abortion.

MCGILL: Yes, we are complying with this law and we are also helping patients along with other independent providers in the state navigate the system to understand where else they might be able to go.

You know, the region is full of restrictions and bans. Some have, like, Texas, 24-hour waiting period. Some have, you know, restrictions that require you to be in an office within, you know, 72 hours at a time.

Again, that means people taking off from work. It means finding childcare. It means traveling through a pandemic to get access.

So we are complying. We are also helping patients get out of Texas because the law about aiding and abetting is within Texas, providing abortion within Texas.

We are trying to make sure people still have access to what they need outside of Texas.

Marc, what is next? Was this so definitive that nothing else can be done in Texas? Where do you go from here?

HEARRON: Well, the court was very clear, including the majority, that this doesn't foreclose all options. So we are continuing to explore our options -- and legal steps.

I will say, you know, that the court has before it a case that is led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, is counsel for the Mississippi -- for the Jackson Women's Health Organization, which is considering Mississippi's 15-week ban and the Supreme Court is going to decide that later this year.

What we need is for Congress to act. We need Congress to pass the Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify in federal statute, in federal law the right to abortion and the right to -- and it would prevent states from enacting bans exactly like the one we've had in Texas.

CAMEROTA: Congress seems to have a hard time agreeing on things at the moment but we'll see what happens next.

Alexis McGill, Marc Hearron, thank you for your time.

HEARRON: Thank you.

MCGILL: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: OK, back to the extreme weather. People in the hardest-hit areas of Louisiana are scrambling still today to find food and gas. And some are still preparing to be without power for three more weeks, a month. Of course, the heat is hitting 100 degrees. [14:39:00]

So we are live in New Orleans with more on Hurricane Ida's aftermath.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Many people in the northeast are still waist deep in the deadly floods from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, they've been dealing with Ida since Sunday. More than 900,000 customers there are still without power amid this brutal heat and humidity.

BLACKWELL: People in the hardest-hit areas could be without electricity for weeks, maybe more than a month.

For those fortunate enough to have a generator, gas is the problem. Gasbuddy.com reports more than a third of gas stations in Louisiana are out of fuel.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in New Orleans with the latest.

Adrienne, I watched your 1:00 hit and it resonated, the mother of four you spoke with waiting in line for hours for gasoline so they can sleep in the car because it is too hot to sleep in the house.

If she is waiting an hour, waiting for hours to get gas, that means she can't wait in the line for food and she can't wait in line for the other necessities there.

I mean, people are having to make some really difficult choices.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tough choices, Victor, and they need help. They're trying to hold on to hope but, at this hour, a lot of the people we talked to and the folks that we spoke with are a bit discouraged.

I want to set the scene for you. You talked about what you saw at 1:00. It is still the same. On the left side of us, people are physically walking up to the pump with their gas cans.

Now, we've seen folks with their gas cans. And I have also seen people filling up water bottles with gasoline.

Over to this side. These pumps are reserved for the travelers who have their vehicles. They've been pulling up.

[14:45:05]

That's where we met Denzel Tate.

I want to take you over, Victor, to our friends and family watching and introduce you to Victor. Excuse me, introduce you to Mr. Tate.

It is hot. He and his family are also depending on their vehicle for relief. Hey, Denzel.

Talk to me a little bit about what is on your heart and how the past few days have been.

DENZEL TATE, NEW ORLEAN RESIDENT: It has been kind of hard you know with a 3-month-old baby and no water, no lights, it ain't easy. We wake up all morning crying all day. They hot, you know. So be a little difficult.

BROADDUS: And people at home can see you are sweating. You are hot. You are here with your family, your 3-month-old baby.

In the short time we have met, I saw sweat a short time ago dripping down his face. There's a slight breeze coming now. What are you doing to make sure he has food, water, milk?

TATE: Well, I mean, we got stuff before everything had happened, which, you know, everything running out now. So we going to have to find somewhere else to go, leave from New Orleans because we can't live like this.

BROADDUS: And you are just one story of so many. We talked to a mother earlier today who said she and her son have been sleeping in the car, but you said that's really not an option for you.

TATE: Yes. It really ain't been, not without no gas and everything, and how my car is it is not really too comfortable for him. So we'll have to get on the porch or lay on the couch or something, open up the door, let a little breeze come in.

BROADDUS: I thank you for sharing your story and letting us know how you are coping. I wish I never had to talk to you. I wish this wasn't happening.

Again, he is speaking out so folks at home can see what the situation is here.

We're going to keep you in our thoughts, of everyone.

The baby's flashed a few smiles here and there. And that's something that keeps people going.

But think about it. More than 900,000 people across this state still don't have power. A lot of people are asking for help. They need the basic essentials, food, water and gasoline, so they can sit in the car and cool off -- Victor and Alisyn?

BLACKWELL: I mean, to see that little baby and those flashes of smiles. But you can imagine the additional emotional and psychological strain it is for parents who are doing the best they can. It is dangerous not to mention the inconvenience not to have power.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

Adrienne, thank you so much. We are seeing desperate scene after desperate scene, whether it is a

3-month-old baby, hot and dazed in a car who can't get cool or enough food, or people being rescued during our program.

From state to state, we are seeing these desperate people because of extreme weather.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You know, we can't do this alone. At some point, our elected officials are going to need to help because the extreme weather isn't going away.

BLACKWELL: You are going to spend the money anyway, right? If you are going to spend the money on the months it will take to rebuild, to put the power lines back up, to prepare for people to have somewhere to live and find some comfort or you can invest.

The money is going to be spent anyway. We'll see what decision is made.

CAMEROTA: At this hour, at least 23 people have died across the northeast. That's just since last night's extreme rain and flooding. So our live coverage continues in a moment.

BLACKWELL: But first, a look at what else to watch today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:14]

CAMEROTA: At least 23 people are dead in the northeast after the intense rain and flooding last night from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

BLACKWELL: Four of the victims were in an apartment complex along the Elizabeth River in New Jersey.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is there.

The mayor tells us they've got drones flying around looking for people who were potentially swept away by the water.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They also have a roster of some of the people who lived in this apartment complex and they're going door to door to make sure they don't have anybody missing.

Where I'm standing was offed with about eight feet of water some 12 hours ago. Before that happened, the fire department launched search- and-rescue efforts at the apartment complex you see behind this first responder vehicle.

Sadly, once those waters receded, they went in and found if the bodies of four people, a man and woman in their 70s, and another man and woman in their 30s. Right next to this, it overflowed its banks. This place is a flood

control area. Last time it flooded was about 50 years ago. And then last night happened.

Look at the pictures that our colleague shot. You can see what's left behind. Those cars basically tossed around like toys. People's muddied belongings are scattered all over the place.

Now about six people who call this apartment complex home cannot be there, at least for now. It is structurally habitable but it needs to be cleaned out.

I'll leave you with this. This is adding another layer of tragedy. The local fire department is actually right across the street from this apartment complex. We know that the fire crews who are based here were outperforming a series of rescues.

And now a lot of people are asking, Victor and Alisyn, if anything else could have been done to perhaps save those four people that, sadly, did not survive last night's floods.

CAMEROTA: Polo, we asked that very question of the mayor of Elizabeth in the last hour. He was explaining how they were going door to door in that apartment complex.

The whole garden level flooded. And they had to cut holes into the floor and grab people out from the garden level and pull people up to safety. And they just couldn't make it, he said, to those four people.

SANDOVAL: Yes, it's overwhelming.

BLACKWELL: Polo Sandoval for us, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, thank you.

Do we have that shot what we're seeing here?

CAMEROTA: Where is this?

[14:55:01]

BLACKWELL: I don't know if they're a family, but they look quite tightknit. Six deer here.

Is this still --

CAMEROTA: It looks like -- no.

BLACKWELL: -- Bound Brook, New Jersey?

CAMEROTA: Even the deer have been displaced.

BLACKWELL: They have been. Walking along looking for a dry spot.

CAMEROTA: That's a building. That's a building and the flood waters are up to its roof.

BLACKWELL: To the roofline, up to the gable. Yes. We don't have -- I mean, the epitaph of this story will be

written in the names of those who have died.

But we will soon get the numbers of homes that are now uninhabitable, the cost to build up the city services, to rebuild those homes, those roads as well.

We're just beginning to see the impact of the remnants of Ida on the east coast here.

CAMEROTA: I mean, the weather forecast said it was going to be really bad, but I don't think anybody could imagine how bad it was last night.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: We have continuing breaking news coverage of this historic flooding in the northeast. The death toll just rose to 23. We also have the latest on search-and-rescue missions underway right now.

BLACKWELL: First, a programming note. A classroom of second graders, a president, and a moment that forever unites them. 20 years later, find out what happened to the kids in the 9/11 classroom, Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)