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Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments On Texas Abortion Ban; CNN's Rene Marsh Writes Book After Losing Two-Year-Old Son; Southwest Pilot Investigated Over Anti-Biden Phrase On Flight. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired November 01, 2021 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
GINA MCCARTHY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL CLIMATE ADVISER: You can't complain about trains and buses that are cleaner and get us where we need to go faster.
So, there's a lot of investments between the two bills that are really going to drive a clean energy future, and people should debate it. That's what Congress does.
But in the end the President is confident that we're going to have the votes and that the American people will see that this is not just about protecting our future. It's about delivering benefits to them today.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Gina McCarthy, we really appreciate you taking time out of your Glasgow schedule to talk to us. Thank you.
MCCARTHY: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Well, the extremely restrictive and controversial Texas abortion law is now in front of the Supreme Court. Next, the president of Planned Parenthood will tell us about the ripple effects what is decided here could have across the country.
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[15:35:00]
CAMEROTA: Supporters and opponents of the controversial Texas abortion ban gathered outside the Supreme Court this morning as the Justices heard challenges to this law. The Texas law basically bans abortions after six weeks with no exceptions, not even for incest or rape.
The Justices are considering the structure of this law rather than whether it violates Roe v. Wade but today two key conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett seemed open to arguments from abortion providers that they should be able to challenge this ban in Federal court.
Joining me now to discuss all of the elements of this is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Alexis McGill Johnson. Alexis, thanks so much for being here. Did you hear anything in the arguments or in the questions from the Justices that gave you hope that this Texas abortion ban would be suspended?
ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Yes, look, I mean, I think we were encouraged that the court seemed genuinely troubled by Texas's blatant attempt to enact an unconstitutional law and evade judicial review while doing so.
I believe that, you know, hearing the arguments this morning in both cases, you know, some of the questions around, you know, impact, right, which we should remember, we are now 60 days into this law. A thousand percent increase from patients to our health centers from Texas, you know, you could see the very alarming impact.
And we certainly heard that concern come out, and we also heard that no right is essentially safe under this device, and some of that explicit questioning. And so, I think we were a bit encouraged by how many of the Justices were engaged in those conversations on both points.
CAMEROTA: I do want to get to impact of this in a second. But first, the tea leaf readers who are listening to all of the Justice's questions zeroed in on this moment of Justice Kavanaugh, which I'll play for you and we can talk about.
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JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH, SUPREME COURT: It could be free speech rights, it could be free exercise of religion rights, it could be second amendment rights. If this position is accepted here, the theory of the amicus brief is that it could be easily replicated in other states that disfavor other constitutional rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: So, Alexis, I mean that's sort of the slippery slope argument that it could be expanded to issues like gun rights that, you know, that conservatives would bristle at. Is that the moment that you felt hopeful?
JOHNSON: Yes, and I think there are many people who have been making this argument all along in op-eds, and you know, AGs across the country. They've lifted up that literally no right was off limits, and when to hear the Texas's Solicitor General make it also clear that no right would be off limits really demonstrates that no right is safe.
And so, I think what was very powerful today was to hear the court essentially hear a challenge against a law that has no ability to be -- where you have no ability to defend your constitutional rights in the state, and I think that taking that up I think is incredibly important because if no rights are off limits, the destruction.
And I think our Solicitor General, you know, said it best that the constitution can't be so fragile, and the supremacy clause can't be subject to so much manipulation, and I think that was a very, very powerful close as well. CAMEROTA: So now let's get to the impact. What have you seen happening
in Texas in the past two months for women? Have they resorted to the desperate measures that so many people feared when this ban went into effect?
JOHNSON: Look, absolutely. We've seen people having to travel thousands of miles outside of Texas -- as I was saying earlier. We are 60 days into SB8 and every day there is a story of a patient, you know, who no longer has access to abortion after six weeks.
[15:40:00]
We have seen patients in our health centers in Oklahoma who are seeing more Texans than Oklahomans. We're seeing that in New Mexico as well. We're seeing patients as far from Texas, as far as Oregon and Vermont, so they are facing incredible burdens to travel out of state.
These are people who, you know, were working on jobs that they had to take off time. They had to find childcare, and remember, they are still traveling through a pandemic.
So, the reality is that the impact, and I think this is where Justice Kagan was fairly strong as well as Justice Sotomayor, in making the point that normally you don't have the opportunity to see the impact of a law so clearly. And in effect what we've seen over the last two months is the extremity of this bizarre law and the way it's been taken up and the chilling effect it has had on Texans, as well as on providers in many states as well.
CAMEROTA: Well, we're obviously watching it very closely. Alexis McGill Johnson, thank you for your time.
JOHNSON: Thank you for having me, Alisyn.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: A CNN correspondent turns her own tragic loss into a story of faith and hope, up next, our colleague Rene Marsh joins us to talk about her new book that's dedicated to her late son Blake.
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[15:45:00]
CAMEROTA: Earlier this year, CNN correspondent Rene Marsh and her husband lost their 2-year-old son Blake to brain cancer. To honor his memory, she wrote a children's book about a boy who needs a miracle to fight off a monster of a problem.
BLACKWELL: "The Miracle Workers, Boy Versus Beast," is out now, and all profits will go toward pediatric brain cancer research. Rene is with us now. Rene, it's good to see you back with us. I know that you wrote this while Blake was undergoing some intensive cancer treatments. Tell us why at that time you decided that you wanted to write a book?
RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First off, thank you both for having me on here to talk about this issue that has now become such an important issue for me -- pediatric cancer.
Victor, when we were in the hospital with Blake, you know, every day when I think about just all that we went through with our strong warrior Blake, I literally felt on days that I was harvesting hope. I was getting hope from a variety of places, even the sunrise gave me hope.
But it was not easy, and I began to think that, you know, if we normalize teaching our children from a very young age just as we teach them reading, writing and arithmetic and the golden rule, if we teach them about this concept of having hope even when you're facing the most difficult circumstances, could it be that it might be a little bit easier when they're older like me and facing just a terrible life circumstance.
Blake loved to read, and I loved to read to him, and so I wanted to create something that had that message of that fighting spirit even when the odds are stacked so incredibly high against you, and from there was the birth of "The Miracle Workers."
CAMEROTA: Rene, you have handled this unspeakable grief with such grace.
MARSH: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: And we're looking at these pictures of your beautiful son, I mean he's physically beautiful, and you can just see his little spirit shining through, just tell us what you want us to know about him.
MARSH: I mean he remains to this day to be my inspiration for everything that I do. This little kid is the one who pushes me to keep going, even though he's not physically here, and I want to continue to fight for him. And what that looks like right now is fighting for other children who are in hospitals right now across the country with a diagnosis for which there is no research.
It's a terrible place to be in when that is your circumstance for a child who hasn't yet been able to live their life or even show you what great things they can do in the world. So, if I can in my time left here on this planet do something to raise awareness, raise the funds so that we can start figuring out these diseases so that when they do get the diagnosis it's not an automatic death sentence.
That is what I'm going to devote my time to because this is my mothering now for Blake. This is how I mother to him, and my love for him is so deep, so that is why I continue to fight for children to this day that continue with this disease.
BLACKWELL: Yes, it's remarkable. You wrote in your Mother's Day message this year that mothers have a history, a long legacy of advocacy when it comes to drunk driving, and being against drug use and many other things, and it's so important now that you've moved forward with pediatric brain cancer research.
Because when you say that there is no research, there is as I've learned from you, almost nothing there. So, the work you're doing is inspiring all of us. Already have my copies on the way. Rene Marsh, thanks so much for spend something time with us.
MARSH: Thanks for having us. And I want to say thank you so much to CNN for helping me to launch this project.
[15:50:00]
I am forever grateful for all of this love and support from colleagues who really right now, whether you want to or not, now you're part of my family. So, a heartfelt thank you to everyone here at CNN. I appreciate it.
CAMEROTA: This is the least we can do, Rene. And you're helping so many other people. And everyone watching can purchase the book at renemarsh.com. You can find out more information there about how the proceeds will be used to help other children. And we'll be right back.
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[15:55:00]
CAMEROTA: Southwest Airlines is launching an internal investigation after one of its pilots reportedly signed off to his passengers by saying, let's go, Brandon, which is basically a code for cursing at President Biden.
BLACKWELL: Then in a statement the airline said that Southwest does not condone employees sharing their personal political opinions while on the job. Southwest is conducting an internal investigation into the recently reported events and will address the situation directly with any employee involved.
Now to American Airlines. They've canceled another 250 flights. Continuing their days-long domino effect of cancellations that started last week. American says it shuttered roughly one in every five of its original scheduled flights on Sunday.
CAMEROTA: In a memo, the airline's chief operating officer says the airline is quote, proactively canceling flights to provide scheduling certainty for our crews.
Starting Monday, the airline says 1,800 flight attendants are returning from pandemic-related time off so that should help.
BLACKWELL: So, this weekend in Cleveland, legendary artists were honored at the 36th Annual Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Inductees, Jay-Z, the Foo Fighters, Carole King, the Go-Go's, Tina Turner and more.
CAMEROTA: Former President Barack Obama, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Angela Bassett ushered in this new wave of inductees. There were also all these surprise performances. OK, here's the Go-Go's. Victor, and I know you're a huge fan.
BLACKWELL: Huge.
CAMEROTA: These are '80s icons. OK, according to the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, the Go-Go's are considered the most successful all-woman rock band of all time.
OK, I'm sure the Bangles will have something to say about that. But I am a huge Go-Go's devotee. It's about time.
BLACKWELL: You know how long we've been talking -- just the viewer, we've been talking about the Go-Go's today. This is an education for me. Because I don't really know any Go-Go's music.
CAMEROTA: I know but you will soon. I'm just going to come to your office and play the entire "Beauty and the Beat" album for you.
BLACKWELL: OK, but I've got a date coming into your office and play "The Blueprint" from Jay-Z.
CAMEROTA: Fair enough.
BLACKWELL: OK.
CAMEROTA: And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts after this short break.
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