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Roe Decision Triggers Abortion Bans In 13 States; January 6 Committee Public Hearings Continue In July; Bombshell Abortion Ruling Triggers Protests & Celebrations; False Political Attacks Take Toll on Election Workers; Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) Discusses What Happened At The Washington Square Park Rally. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 25, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:05]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: The United States Supreme Court hands down arguably its most significant ruling in decades, and on this day after, anger and elation ripple across a divided nation.

Outside the Supreme Court today, protesters railed against the Court overturning the landmark Roe versus Wade decision. After nearly 50 years, American women no longer have a constitutional right to an abortion. And 26 states in this country are expected to enact laws outright banning abortion.

For opponents of abortion rights and many conservatives, it is a breathtaking victory decades in the making, and one that seems completely out of reach even just a few years ago.

I want to bring in CNN Supreme Court Reporter, Ariane de Vogue. Ariane you have been working overtime, needless to say. Let's start off with the immediate impact of this ruling and the confusion, since it will vary state to state even some states with trigger laws, it doesn't go into effect immediately. It's confusing,

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. Because Justice Samuel Alito said this issue is going back to the States. We know already that 26 states will soon if you haven't already banned abortion, some of those states had these laws on the books before Roe.

So those just went back into effect. Others had trigger laws, laws that would be triggered to go into effect if Roe were to ever go down, but what's complicated here is each state, the trigger law goes into effect at a different time and that's why we're seeing some confusion nationwide now as far as what's in effect.

And there's one other fascinating thing going on, just a couple of hours ago, Planned Parenthood said that it was going to State Court in Utah because it was going to challenge Utah's trigger law by saying that it violated the State's Constitution.

And the reason I keep emphasizing the word "state" is, this is no longer in the Federal arena now. Everything is happening in the States and that will be a big lawsuit to watch, and it is really changing the legal terrain. BROWN: That is fascinating. Wow. What a twist.

There is a lot of scrutiny on the conservative Justices, from their confirmation hearings and what they said about their views on Roe v. Wade. Let's take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE THOMAS, THEN NOMINEE FOR THE SUPREME COURT: I do not have a position to share with you here today on the proper -- whether or not that case was properly decided.

SAMUEL ALITO, THEN NOMINEE FOR THE SUPREME COURT: The legitimacy of the Court would be undermined in any case, if the Court made a decision based on its perception of public opinion. It should make its decisions based on the Constitution and the law.

NEIL GORSUCH, THEN NOMINEE FOR THE SUPREME COURT: That's the law of the land. I accept the law of the land, Senator. Yes.

BRETT KAVANAUGH, THEN NOMINEE FOR THE SUPREME COURT: As a Judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. By it, I mean, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood versus Casey and reaffirmed many times.

AMY CONEY BARRETT, THEN NOMINEE FOR THE SUPREME COURT: If that's a case that's litigated. It could you know -- its contours could come up again, in fact, do come up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Several lawmakers, Pelosi and Collins mentioned they have said they have felt misled by Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch based not only on what they said in the confirmation hearings, but also in person meetings.

DE VOGUE: Well, I have covered these confirmation hearings for years and years, abortion is always front and center and the nominee always responds to it by saying I believe in this doctrine called stare decisis and that legalese basically means Judges don't like to eagerly overturn precedent, right, because the law needs to be stable, et cetera, et cetera.

But it's really ridiculous at these confirmation hearings because the nominee is asked about abortion. The nominee says, well, I believe in stare decisis. But the thing is, is if you're a Lower Court Judge, you are actually bound by what the Supreme Court does. But once you're in the Supreme Court, you're no longer bound by it. Right? Because you're a Supreme Court Justice, and we saw this today breakthrough in a fascinating "New York Times" article, because do you remember Justice Brett Kavanaugh's bitter confirmation hearings, right?

And one thing that really saved him was Senator Susan Collins who said she sat down with him because he really explained to her how he wasn't going to overturn Roe and today, she really blasted him because she quoted some of the notes some of her own staffers took at the time in saying how he wouldn't do it. And he said, according to the notes, "I am a don't-rock-the-boat kind

of judge. I believe in stability and in the Team of Nine," so she did this front page, "New York Times" story today saying she was really misled.

BROWN: Yes, we tried to get her on the show, unfortunately, she wasn't available, but clearly she is not happy -- mad.

Let's talk about what's going on inside the Court, right? There's a lot of palace intrigue right now. You have reporting, though, about these tensions that are boiling over inside.

DE VOGUE: Yes. We have really seen it in the last couple of weeks. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent in a big religious liberty case and the last line of her dissent. She said, "I fear what the conservative Justices are going to do next." That's a very odd way, right, to end an opinion.

And plus, the fact she knows darn well what they're going to do next because she is sitting there and she is seeing draft opinions flying.

[18:05:09]

DE VOGUE: So then we see Justice Samuel Alito, he struck back in that big gun case, remember, the Supreme Court there struck down that concealed carry law, and in fact that the opinion will only impact a handful of laws, but the way it was written will change the way Judges look at all sorts of other kind of laws and regulations, and the dissenters wrote a huge dissent about that and they brought up mass shootings, they brought up all the other things that will be looked at differently now because of this opinion.

And Justice Samuel Alito, almost out of nowhere, writes this six-page concurring opinion, just targeting the dissenters and asking them why in the world, would they bring up mass shooting in a Second Amendment case? So, it was very odd and you have a sense, it is the end of the term, and they are really through -- they need to get out of town.

But one more important fact, if the Supreme Court ends next week, and it might, right? We might see the end of the term, don't forget, we've got Judge Ketanji Jackson who will be sworn in because Breyer had said he'll step down. She is stepping into a really fraught atmosphere right now. It's just unprecedented.

BROWN: Very -- I was going to say, we covered the Court together for many years, a very different High Court now than it was ...

DE VOGUE: Really different.

BROWN: ... several years ago when we were covering it.

All right, Ariane, excellent reporting. Thank you.

Well, President Biden called the Court's ruling, a tragic error, and he also said it was a step backward for the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, the Supreme Court of the United States expressly took away a constitutional right from the American people that had already recognized. They didn't limit it, they simply took it away.

With this decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is, how far removed they are from the majority of this country.

They've made the United States an outlier among developed nations in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Let's take a look at how the US now compares to the rest of the world.

In the last 25 years, some 50 countries have liberalized their abortion laws. With yesterday's ruling, the US joins the ranks of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Poland as the only countries to rollback abortion rights in that time.

Already, 10 states have effectively banned abortions. In Europe, nearly every country has at least some abortion protections. Poland has some of the most extreme restrictions, yet even there, women can end a pregnancy if it is a result of rape or incest.

Women now cannot do that in the states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Alabama.

Well, the Court's decision is already changing the lives of women across the country. CNN's Amara Walker spoke to a single mom in Jackson, Mississippi who decided to seek an abortion, but ran out of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

AMANDA FURDGE, PRO-CHOICE COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: You all go out and get in the van.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There is no mistaking this mother's dedication to her three young boys, handwritten Post-It notes can be found in every room of their home guiding and encouraging them.

FURDGE: A lot of the things that I tell them are the words that get me through parenting every day.

WALKER (voice over): Parenting for 34-year-old Amanda Furdge has been a journey filled with difficult decisions.

FURDGE: I get emotional talking about it because we've been through so much. Even now, we still go through that.

WALKER (voice over): Furdge knows what it's like to be poor and pregnant. A single mom of one escaping an abusive relationship, living on government assistance with limited access to healthcare. She decided to seek an abortion, but she says she ran out of time.

FURDGE: I'm still dealing with the residue emotionally, mentally, economically, of not being able to secure an abortion.

WALKER (on camera): Mississippi laws are already among the most restrictive when it comes to getting an abortion. On top of that, when she first sought one out, Furdge says she was initially sent to an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center, a waste of time she says.

When she eventually found the right clinic, it was too late. So her second son Mega was born. He's now seven.

Furdge says she has no regrets and she is trying her best to raise three boys.

FURDGE: Hey, well, you're here now, welcome to the family. This is how we're rolling. That's Mega. Before there was Mega, there was Science.

WALKER (voice over): With Friday Supreme Court's announcement, a number of states are expected to further restrict access to abortion affecting millions across the country.

A shift, experts say will disproportionately affect Black and Brown women.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You and your --

WALKER (voice over): The Jackson Women's Health Organization also known as the Pink House is the last place offering legal abortions in Mississippi. It is named in the case.

It has become Ground Zero for the abortion rights battle.

The opinion announced Friday centered around Mississippi's 15-week ban on nearly all abortions.

[18:10:10]

WALKER: A leaked draft ruling in early May triggered nationwide protests.

(CROWD chanting "My Body." "My choice.")

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop the haters, stop the violence. Women and girls.

CROWD: Won't be silenced.

FATIMA GOSS GRAVES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER: It will be a decision that is rooted deeply in this country's history of racism.

WALKER (voice over): Activists like Fatima Goss Graves says the abortion ruling is especially damaging to poor women of color. Black and Hispanic women made up roughly 59 percent of the people who

reported legal abortions in the US in 2019, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, and a recent report from the CDC found that Black women are three times more likely than White women to die from a pregnancy-related cause.

GRAVES: It will be felt acutely in the Black community and other communities of color and for people who have the least access to healthcare.

WALKER (voice over): In Mississippi, Black people make up 38 percent of the population, but made up nearly three-quarters of legal abortions in the state in 2019, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

JOEY FILLINGANE (R), MISSISSIPPI STATE SENATOR: Abortion is not going to be illegal across the US, it is going to be returned to the states and the State Legislatures will decide.

WALKER (voice over): Republican Mississippi State Senator Joey Fillingane insists this has nothing to do with race and everything to do with states' rights.

WALKER (on camera): This would disproportionately impact Black and Brown women.

FILLINGANE: And it would disproportionately save Black and Brown children.

FURDGE: My biggest concern is that women are going to secure abortions that won't be safe.

WALKER (voice over): Furdge believes abortion access is about saving lives.

FURDGE: Minority women are going to die and minority women are going to go to jail because we're going to find ways to meet our need.

WALKER (voice over): She vows to keep fighting for safe legal abortion access for all.

FURDGE: Okay, let's see if this works.

WALKER (voice over): While simultaneously embracing her reproductive journey.

FURDGE: It is part of my healing process, too, is to be able to say, man, you really did not want to have that pregnancy, but you did it and now look.

WALKER (voice over): Amara Walker, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And this just in to CNN, the World Health Organization may be tamping down global concerns over monkeypox. A short time ago, the WHO declared monkeypox is not a public health

emergency of international concern. Officials say the outbreak needs to be monitored and is "clearly an evolving threat."

The monkeypox virus is a less dangerous cousin of smallpox. It can spread through body fluids, monkeypox sores, or contaminated items like clothing and bedding.

And ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, how the decision to overturn Roe versus Wade impacts Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy. I'm going to speak to her biographer, Irin Carmon.

Also ahead, no regrets: Why Republican, Rusty Bowers, who fought Trump's attempted coup plot in his own words, well, he says that he would still vote for him today.

And damaged democracy: One in five election workers now saying they're likely to quit before the next presidential election.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:24]

BROWN: Well, this week, the January 6 Committee wrapped up its fifth public hearing. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson says hearings will continue in July after the House reconvenes.

Joining me now is Philip Bump. He is a national correspondent for "The Washington Post."

Hi, Philip.

So earlier this week, you wrote a piece titled "Most Americans think Trump should be prosecuted. It's not that easy." Why is attempting to prosecute Trump an uphill battle?

PHILIP BUMP, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, there are a number of reasons.

So we obviously have the January 6 Committee which is doing a lot of work to try and establish evidence that shows that Donald Trump was culpable for what happened that day. They target two specific criminal violations potentially. One is conspiracy to defraud the United States that essentially he had taken false actions to interrupt the counting of electoral votes, and then there's an actual obstruction of official business, which is that actual effort to stop what was happening on January 6th.

But the January 6 Committee doesn't actually file criminal charges, the best they can do is make a criminal referral to the Justice Department. And there, there's a very interesting article by Andrew Goldsmith in "The New York Times" who is a former prosecutor who outlined the (AUDIO GAP) that the Justice Department is going to be wary of this. There are some obvious ones like they need to make sure that they feel

as though they have enough evidence to actually obtain a conviction, things along those lines, but obviously, there is this overarching question, which is, what does it mean to obtain criminal charges against an ex-President of the United States? That is a big deal, and obviously something that has political connotations that for however much everyone in the United States would wish that justice were exacted independent of any political questions, there is no question that the Biden administration and the Attorney General Merrick Garland are paying attention to it.

BROWN: Absolutely. There's this new ABC/Ipsos poll out that shows nearly six in 10 Americans think Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Capitol riot? Are these hearings having an effect on the public?

BUMP: Yes. We've seen a slight uptick in the number of people who think that. I mean, obviously, it is not necessarily the intentional goal of the Committee to try and prove that Donald Trump shouldn't be charged with a crime. They're not setting out necessarily to do that.

They do feel as though that happened, though, and they are presenting evidence, which suggests that Donald Trump was culpable for what happened that day. And obviously, there's a lot of evidence to that effect.

People are now more inclined than they were previously to say that, yes, Donald Trump did something criminal in the way that he spoke to the crowd that ended up storming the Capitol. And so yes, you know, there's a lot of partisanship involved here. Democrats are a lot more likely to say that only, you know, a relatively small proportion of Republicans are, but even among Republicans that numbers is climbing.

BROWN: So earlier this week, Arizona House Speaker, Rusty Bowers testified about how he refused to help Trump overturn the 2020 election. But just a day before, he had told the AP that despite it all, he would vote for Trump again in 2024. He discussed his comments with CNN this morning. Let's listen.

[18:20:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSTY BOWERS (R), ARIZONA HOUSE SPEAKER: Will you vote for Trump again versus Biden? And if you're limiting the choice to those two, just because of the implementation of the policy, I would have to go with the one who had lived -- would implement the policy.

If you're asking me if I want Donald Trump to be President again, the answer is no. I don't and I want options.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Is this a common sentiment among Republicans who acknowledge Trump's wrongdoings that they'd still vote for him if given no other GOP option? Or if it was between him and Biden? BUMP: Yes, it is. I mean, and there are two things I'd say about that.

The first is that this really underscores that for a lot of Republicans, they don't necessarily see what Donald Trump did after the election as disqualifying. They don't necessarily see it as something which would prevent him from holding office in the future if he is the Republican nominee.

That said, a lot of Republicans also think, hey, maybe we should look for another Republican nominee. There's a reason that Ron DeSantis in polling this week, actually edged slightly ahead of him, basically it's just a statistical tie with Trump in New Hampshire, which we know Trump won by miles in 2016. Now, DeSantis actually is about running neck and neck with him in that state.

And part of that is, I think, a lot of Republicans are reaching a point where they sort of had it, they've sort of had it with Donald Trump, they've sort of had it with all of these clouds that are hanging over him and they see that there are other options, who will continue to advocate for Trumpian sorts of policies and, you know, sort of a style of politics who aren't themselves actually Donald Trump.

BROWN: All right, Philip Bump, thank you so much.

Well, the three liberal Justices on the Supreme Court say they feel "sorrow" for the millions of women who no longer have the right to an abortion, and warned the conservative majority may not stop there.

We're going to discuss with the writer of a book on the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:26:22]

BROWN: I want to highlight a portion of the joint dissent in yesterday's ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade.

Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan delivered a stark warning about their conservative counterparts saying: "And no one should be confident that this majority is done with its work. The right Roe and Casey recognized does not stand alone. To the contrary, the Court has linked it for decades to other subtle freedoms involving bodily integrity, familial relationships, and procreation."

"Most obviously, the right to terminate a pregnancy arose straight out of the right to purchase and use contraception. In turn, those rights led more recently to rights of same sex, intimacy, and marriage. They are all part of the same constitutional fabric, protecting autonomous decision making over the most personal of life decisions."

Joining me to talk about the decision and its implications is Irin Carmon. She is a senior correspondent at "New York" Magazine, and co- author of "Notorious RBG," a biography of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Irin, thank you so much for joining the show.

I want to talk about the story for "New York" Magazine where you write the dissenter say you're not hysterical. What most stands out to you in their 66 pages of remarks?

IRIN CARMON, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: You know, I've read a lot of dissents in my time. Of course, Justice Ginsburg was famous for her dissents, but I think this one stands out for its clarity, its anger, its bluntness.

Because of the unusual nature of how we learned about this opinion through a leak, I think that there was an opportunity for there to be a public conversation about all of the ramifications of the opinion, from what it would mean for other kinds of rights, such as the ones you highlighted, like same sex marriage and right to contraception, to how states could actually enforce this, whether within their borders or outside of what are the risks to patients who are seeking abortions.

And so as a result, I think the dissent actually listened -- the dissenters listened to that debate and dialogue, and they also responded, I think, to some of the claims that happened in the last few weeks since the leak saying, actually certain rights will be safe. This is something also Justice Alito writes in his majority opinion.

And also, don't worry, you know, this will just be a states' rights issue. That's something that Justice Kavanaugh wrote in his opinion. And so, they actually directly address the claims that people are worried about, for example, will folks be prosecuted for leaving their state lines or will people for aiding and abetting be criminalized? Will same sex marriage, the right to contraception, even sodomy bans, be up for grabs?

The dissenters, as you highlighted make it very clear that they believe that because of the constitutional structure of those precedents, it is imminent. And if you read Justice Thomas' concurrence, which we didn't have from the leak, you can see that he is very openly asking for that to be so and, who knows if we have the votes today, but I think that the dissenters are warning that they're laying the groundwork for that to happen in the future.

BROWN: Right. Alito said, this does not go beyond abortion, but clearly Justice Thomas, in his concurrence says it raises questions for same sex marriage, same sex relationships, contraception. We're talking about the dissent.

You have extensively research written about Ginsburg, we know how she would have voted. You must have been thinking about what her reaction would have been if she could have written something in that dissent. What would it have been?

[18:30:31]

CARMON: I felt like the dissenters were channeling her and even though they were very much writing in their own voices, there were few references to her and the most important way in which they highlighted what she might have said is that even though Roe was decided on the basis of a right to privacy, it was later expanded to a certain extent in Casey where there's a line in Casey that says that the ability for women to participate equally in our nation is tied to the ability to control their reproduction.

And that notion that an individual is not being treated as a full adult, unless they have full control over their reproduction was something that RBG believes passionately. And so in the dissent, they actually say that this is not just about a private right to make a decision on your own quietly or 'with your doctor'. These are terms that RBG really thought were not enough. She really thought that women could not be equal citizens, they could not stand equally in the face of the law, if they could if the state controlled for her, whether to become a parent when to become a parent.

And that that came out loud and clear and they were also a couple of citations to the gender equality cases that she brought in the 1970s. So I think her colleagues were very much trying to keep that alive, keep those ideas alive in their own language while adding their own views.

BROWN: So interesting hearing your perspective on that. Irin, thank you so much.

CARMON: Thank you.

BROWN: With the baseless claims of election fraud spread by President Trump and his supporters will leave a lasting mark on democracy including during the next presidential election, regardless if the former president runs again. I'll explain for the record up next.

And this weekend on CNN, you may know Arthur Ashe as a legendary tennis champion, the first black man to win the singles title and Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, but his legacy goes far beyond the court. The new CNN film, Citizen Ashe premieres tomorrow night at 9 right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR ASHE, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Everything is concentrated on the razor's edge and you forget the score. You forget where you are.

I feel that my body is floating within myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arthur Ashe, bright young member of the United States Davis Cup team.

ASHE: Some people think, we are all brawn and no brains, and I like to fight the myth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He started becoming a citizen of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arthur Ashe, the first black player to win the men's Wimbledon singles title.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has evolved from someone who was analytical for someone who became more about direct action.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It became another fight for Arthur and he picked it up like he did every other cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never forgot about his race and when I say his race, I'm talking about the human race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Citizen Ashe, premieres tomorrow at 9 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:37:40]

BROWN: Well, when we go vote in the primaries in the midterm elections in the 2024 presidential election, the fallout from the 2020 election and the president - then-President Trump's baseless claims that it was stolen will be right in our faces. Now, for the record, this week at the January 6 committee hearings, we heard from two former Fulton County Georgia election workers the mother and daughter testified about the many hateful and racist threats they received and how President Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, targeted them.

The women were accused of passing a USB drive to each other in some kind of vote stealing scheme, a scheme that never took place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): What was your mom actually handing you on that video?

WANDREA "SHAYE" MOSS, FORMER GEORGIA ELECTION WORKER: A ginger mint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Trump would keep going after them during a phone call with the Georgia Secretary of State. The women said the threat still haunt them two years later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBY FREEMAN, FORMER FULTON COUNTY, GA ELECTION WORKER: FREEMAN: There is nowhere I feel safe, nowhere. Do you know how it feels to have the President of the United States to target you? The President of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not to target one. But he targeted me, Lady Ruby, a small business owner, a mother, a proud American citizen who stand up to help Fulton County run an election in the middle of the pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Our free and fair elections only work because of hardworking and dedicated Americans, some of them volunteers. But why would anyone volunteer to be an election worker when this is what happens? Earlier this year, the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice surveyed local election officials and one in five said that they would probably quit before the next presidential election in 2024. That's not all, one- third of those likely to leave mostly blamed false political attacks on the election system. And more than half said they were worried about their colleague's safety.

And videotape testimony shown this week Ruby Freeman told the January 6 Committee she went into hiding after the FBI told her she would not be safe until after the press Presidential election.

[18:40:00]

Ms. Freeman stayed away from her home for about two months. She and her daughter weren't the only ones getting threats from Trump supporters. Listen to what election officials from across the country told the Brennan Center last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had assault rifle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A pipe bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to get what's coming to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They threaten my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wouldn't go anywhere without the police officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had officers on the roof of our building.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never had people so engaged and enraged about what we were doing just to ensure that people could vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Now, for the record, the next presidential election might not be handled by people with years of experience running elections, the folks who donated their time and workers like Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. And it's sad to say that is how the damage to democracy may already be done.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. What's next for Congress in this post Roe reality Democratic? Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney warns we do not have a democracy if people don't have full control over their own bodies. She joins me live up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:31]

BROWN: New York Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney says she has been fighting for progressive values her entire life and she's not stopping now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-NY): (Inaudible) our healthcare and our rights into the ground. We have to fight back with everything we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Congresswoman Maloney joins me now from New York. As we saw, Congresswoman, you were at a rally yesterday in Washington Square Park. What did you hear from people there?

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-NY): Well, I was at several level them, Pamela, they're spontaneous. They are everywhere. People are outraged. They're speaking out. In fact, I'm missing one in Carl Schurz Park right now to be here with you. Women are angry, they are - feel betrayed, they are afraid of what this bill - what this change means to their lives, to their health care to people across our country to women.

We are afraid. We know that more women are going to die. There will be abortions, but they will not be safe in many states. So the passion is deep. It is strong. The determination is really fierce to make sure that this has changed and women will not stop until this is overruled changed in some way to protect a woman's right to make decisions over her own body, including her reproductive health decisions.

BROWN: What do you say to supporters of the Supreme Court decision who say, look, this is not a nationwide ban on abortion. This is just leaving it up to the states to decide from their elected representatives to decide what's going to happen on abortion. What do you say to that?

MALONEY: Well, I would say the - Thom (ph) said that this decision and removing privacy protections and overturning 49 years of precedent that next should be access to contraceptions, to gay marriage and on and on and on. So there there's a lot of really anger, I would say anger, and fear and determination.

We know already that people are having problems with access to abortions in many of these states and we fear violence at the clinics. We're hearing reports on that. We're hearing threats on doctor's lives. It's a very troubling and disturbing decision. It's the first time that we've overturned 49 years of precedent. They always say precedent, precedent, precedent, well, they overturn precedent itself.

When all of these justices pledged when they were being questioned by the Senate, they all said they would uphold precedent when they were on the court. So this is a - we're assessing what it means. We know it means more deaths for women.

BROWN: I want to ask you why you - this is so personal for you.

MALONEY: I grew up in New York with great women leaders and I know people who lost loved ones with back alley abortions. I know what it was like during that time and in fact, Pamela, I announced for Congress on the day of the Planned Parenthood versus Casey decision, which put more restrictions on Roe when I was at city hall with Bella Abzug and Geraldine Ferraro and many other great women leaders and everybody was furious as we are now. And I decided I would run for Congress, because in our country, we can

stand up and fight for what we believe in. And now I feel that every woman and like minded man should run against a pro life Republican and turn it into a majority of pro-choice in the Senate so that we can protect a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. I would say there is no democracy if we cannot make decisions about our own health care.

[18:49:59]

BROWN: I want to get your reaction to what Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican, tweeted out today in response to former President Obama who clearly - Obama disagrees with the Supreme Court decision of overturning Roe v. Wade. He responded on Twitter, "Now do Plessy vs. Ferguson/Brown vs. Board of Education." Later adding he is happy that those were overturned. But he's basically saying, look, that was also precedent that was overturned. What do you say to that?

MALONEY: Well, I support President Biden speech was among the best I've heard him give. It was reasoned, it was based in fact, and I'm as outraged as he is and every American should be as outraged. It has been a conservative Republican minority that has plotted for decades, chipping away at a woman's right to choose.

For many years I served in Congress, when the Republicans were in charge. I kept a scorecard on choice. I got to 350 votes that passed the House of Representatives that chipped away in little ways going after Roe. Well, with this decision, they are bulldozing it into the ground, absolutely overturning it. Very few things have been overturned, something that is essential to women's health.

Believe me, this is one of the worst decisions ever in the court. It was political. I am sad for the Supreme Court. They lost a lot of credibility. They look more like a politicians or I don't know they - it looks like a political decision as opposed to one based on policy and precedent and thought. And it's a sad day for the Court and it's even sadder day for the country where so many women will be hurt because of this decision and families will be hurt.

BROWN: And I will say the Brown decision, we were just talking about the Cornyn tweet about, that was a unanimous decision, both Republican and Democratic appointed justices. This time for the first time in its history, the Supreme Court is withdrawing a right that it had established. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, thank you so much.

MALONEY: Thank you so much, Pamela. Thank you so much.

BROWN: Well, many facilities across the country had to pause when the Supreme Court removed the federal protection for abortion. Coming up, I'm going to talk to a Washington Post reporter who was inside a Texas clinic Friday, when it suddenly shut down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:04] BROWN: Tennis legend, Arthur Ashe, made history as a black athlete who

excelled in a mostly white sport and he changed how the world viewed social issues from civil rights to HIV and AIDS. The new CNN film Citizen Ashe takes a fresh look at his impact both on and off the court. Our Andy Scholes explains how Arthur Ashe still inspires activist athletes today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: Let's use this moment as a call to action for all professional athletes to educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence and renounce all violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN: For generations, athletes have used their voices to call for social change. Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe are just a few of the sports superstars who became known just as much for their activism as their athletic prowess. LeBron James is one of the many athletes now trying to carry the torch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: In the past, when we've seen progress we've let our foot off the gas a little bit. We can't do that. We want to continue to keep our foot on the gas, continue to push forward, continue to spread love throughout America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice over): After the murder of George Floyd in 2020. A number of NBA players join Black Lives Matter marches around the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do we want it?

CROWD: Now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice over): And when a police officers shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court in protest.

WNBA, meanwhile, dedicated its 2020 season to Breonna Taylor and the Say Her Name movement. Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka honor the victims of police and racial violence during her 2020 U.S. Open run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOMI OSAKA, FOUR-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: I just felt like it was important to hopefully use my platform for something good.

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SCHOLES (voice over): Osaka also using her platform to speak up for those who deal with mental health issues, letting it be known it's okay to not be okay, even stepping away from the French Open in 2021 to take time off. The tennis great also pleaded for change after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas along with Coco Gauff who wrote on the camera at the French Open after a match, peace end the gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS COACH: When are we going to do something?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice over): Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr who lost his dad to gun violence gave a passionate speech after the Uvalde shooting directly challenging the Senate to pass HR8, which would expand background checks on all commercial gun sales.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERR: They won't vote on it because they want to hold on to their own power. It's pathetic. I've had enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice over): Over the past decade arguably no athlete has taken a bigger stand than Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback started a movement kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN KAEPERNICK, FORMER SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS QUARTERBACK: I'm seeing things happen to people that don't have a voice. People that don't have a platform to talk and have their voices heard and affect change. So I'm in a position where I can do that and I'm going to do that for people that can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice over): Sports stars in 2022 are followed by millions of fans across social media.

[19:00:02]

Their reach has never been greater, neither has the criticism.