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SCOTUS' Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade Further Divides America; Zelenskyy Addresses G7 As Kyiv Reels from Russian Strikes; Biden Attempts to Promote Democracy As Political Division Intensifies. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 27, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, it is Monday, June 27th, it's 5:00 a.m. here in New York, I'm Laura Jarrett.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. Thanks for getting an early start with us this Monday morning. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

JARRETT: Nice to have you back on this big Monday morning --

ROMANS: Yes --

JARRETT: We begin with life in America after Roe versus Wade, the Supreme Court's landmark decision rolling back the constitutional right to an abortion already changing the fabric of American life. Protests over the weekend animated, but overwhelmingly peaceful. As Republicans celebrated the win, decades in the making, and now facing an uncertain political fallout from the decision. Democrats clearly angry, but left without votes in Congress right now and without a plan of action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): This court has lost legitimacy. They have burned whatever legitimacy they may still have had after their gun decision, after their voting decision, after their union decision. They just took the last of it and set a torch to it with the Roe versus Wade opinion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Several states are already working to protect abortion rights while others, at least ten, effectively banned abortion as of Saturday night. Another five states are expected to pass laws limiting abortion in the coming days and weeks. In all, 26 states could outlaw or set extreme limits on abortions. A new "CBS News" poll after Roe was struck down, finds the majority of Americans nearly 60 percent -- nearly 60 percent do not approve of overturning that law.

JARRETT: Yes, interesting. That was a poll conducted over the weekend. So -- ROMANS: Yes --

JARRETT: After Roe. Joining me now to discuss is CNN legal analyst Areva Martin. Areva, so nice to have you this morning. It seems that the next step in this fight is going to come down to Medicaid and abortion, which is actually the way most women get an abortion nowadays. Over 50 percent of women are actually doing it through pills, not through a surgical procedure.

And you already see this clash shaping up between the attorney general who put out a strong statement on Friday saying, states cannot ban these FDA-approved pills on safety grounds. But this is untested legal ground, right?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely, Laura, and you're correct. Most people don't know that over 50 percent of women do receive abortions by taking an abortion pill. And it's a big issue in terms of -- ban abortions, the 26 states or so that you identified in your opening. How will they --

JARRETT: All right. It looks like Areva's feed there is a little bit disrupted. We will try to get her back in for this conversation. Areva, thanks to you. Christine?

ROMANS: OK, almost immediately after Friday's decision, major corporations jumped in to say they would pay for their employees to travel across state lines for health care, for abortion care. In some cases, even covering travel costs of their employee's dependents like a wife or a daughter. Let's bring in CNN business writer Clare Duffy. You know, so interesting Claire.

Even during the pandemic, you had all these companies moving their headquarters to low tax Republican-controlled states, and now they find themselves in this situation where they have to promise to their employees that they will continue health care coverage for them in terms of abortion. What are you hearing from companies?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Right, you know, I agree. I think that this is a real clash between some of these big corporate players and the Republican-controlled governments in these states. And you know, we heard from dozens of companies on Friday that they plan to, as you said, pay for travel costs for their employees. Some employers came out with even stronger statements. You know, Patagonia said it would pay the bail fees for its employees if they're arrested --

ROMANS: Wow --

DUFFY: While protesting this decision, you know, other companies making really strong statements about, you know, just the fact that, this is a human rights issue and they want to stick up for their employees.

ROMANS: That's so interesting. You've also been doing some reporting I think that's super interesting about -- the things like period trackers and other areas that we might not be thinking about right away. What is your reporting finding about, you know, Google location and how maybe law enforcement or -- I don't know, like people could be tracked for their health care?

DUFFY: Right, it's a real concern. The difference between now and the pre-Roe era is that, we live in this time where we're so heavily reliant on technology and surveilled by our technology. And so digital privacy experts are really concerned about the ways that law enforcements and states that outlaw abortion or in particular, criminalize abortion, could use people's period tracking apps, their data from that, their data from Google Location Services if they visit a clinic.

[05:05:00]

Their Google search results if they search for, you know, even information about --

ROMANS: Sure --

DUFFY: Abortions. You know, if someone has a miscarriage and happened to have done a Google search like that. You know, there's risk that they could be criminalized for this action.

ROMANS: It's a little early to try to like come up with the economic numbers, but when you think of just how far reaching this in so many states, I mean, you've got several states here where the health of a mother is not even a consideration here for abortion access. So what does this mean for the economy? I mean, I haven't seen a bunch of states coming out with their comprehensive plans for how they're going to address maternal health inequities, right, and universal pre-k.

And we don't even have paid maternity leave in this country. You know, we have FMLA, you could take unpaid time off. What about the economic impact here?

DUFFY: Right. Well, I think this is another reason why you saw so many companies speaking up about this, is, because certainly, it's a social issue and they want to do right by their employees. But it is an economic issue. You know, there are studies that have been done, that show that women who are denied abortions have poor health outcomes, are more reliant on government services, are more likely to be unemployed.

And we're in this time and we've already spent the last two years talking about the number of women who have dropped out of the workforce during the pandemic. This is only going to exacerbate that.

ROMANS: All right, Clare Duffy, so much -- come back. I know there's a lot of reporting to be done around this, in this space. Thank you so much.

DUFFY: Thank you.

JARRETT: All right, joining us now is Areva Martin. Areva, thanks for sticking around with us. I want to turn back to the legal discussion here we were having on how this is going to play out in the states with what appears to be something of a loophole to this Supreme Court decision, because the FDA could be in a legal battle with states, with states that are trying to essentially block women from getting this combination of two pills that have been used early in pregnancy to terminate a pregnancy.

MARTIN: Yes, Laura. We know that over 50 percent of women that receive abortions today get an abortion by taking an abortion pill. And you can take that pill up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. And it's not clear how those states that have determined that abortion will no longer be legal, how they're going to regulate the use of this pill. Are they going to be able to punish women who go to states where abortions are legal?

Can a clinic in California, for example, send pills to a woman in a state where abortions have been banned, like Missouri? How will states know that women have received these pills? And we've seen a lot of these -- in the past, have gone after the doctors. But are we going to see states going after women now? These are big questions, Laura.

JARRETT: Just remind our audience how this typically works. It sounds like a boring doctrine about preemption and supremacy. But just remind our audience, how is it that the federal government might be able to actually intervene here on what states want to do?

MARTIN: Well, the big issue, Laura, is the mail. We know the federal government controls the mail. The federal government also controls travel. So, travel between states. So, if you are doing a tele-health visit with a physician in California, if that physician, you know, prescribes for you abortion pills, he can send you those pills through the mail.

And it's not clear that the states would have any rights or any ability to control the use of the mail by doctors to get abortion pills to women. Also, Kavanaugh in his concurring opinion in Dobbs says that the ruling in no way restricts the travel of women. So, we know also that a lot of nonprofit organizations that provide abortions are already setting up abortion mobile units outside of states on the state -- on borders of states that have banned abortions.

Again, to make abortions available so a woman can literally just walk to the border of a state where abortions are illegal and access abortion health care through these clinics. So we're going to see lots of work around because this decision, Laura, as you know, is so devastating, so galling, so shocking, and will have such a disproportionate impact on poor women, on low income women and particularly women of color.

JARRETT: Well, speaking of which, a Duke University study found that a ban on abortion would cause black maternal health -- get this, Areva, to rise by 33 percent. You know, it's something that the dissent highlighted that, you know, abortion is not going to go away with this decision. It just means that the people who can get one are going to be people of means, people who can travel, people, you know, who can take time off of work. The disproportionate effects here are going to be seen quite quickly.

MARTIN: Absolutely, Laura. And we know those high mortality, maternal mortality rates are intense, particularly in many southern states where it's more dangerous for a black woman to have a baby in the U.S. than it is to have a baby in a third world country. And we don't see a lot of talk or any talk by those that are celebrating this decision about how they are going to bring that high maternal mortality rate for black women down, and how this ruling will, in fact, as you just said, that study shows will actually increase the black maternal mortality rate.

[05:10:00]

So, the folks that are celebrating this, you know, we don't hear them talking about universal pre-k, you know, day care, universal health care and those things that are needed to support a child once that child is brought to life by a parent.

JARRETT: Yes, the reality of it is going to hit quite quickly, and really already has as you point out. Areva, thank you for getting up bright and early, appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thank you, Laura.

JARRETT: You know, it's interesting, the economic ripple effects of this decision I think have not been -- you know, it just hasn't been the top-of-mind discussion obviously for a lot of reasons because there's so much fallout in so many different ways. But it's really a life-changing generational shift --

ROMANS: Absolutely --

JARRETT: For women economically.

ROMANS: And I know -- I know a woman in Texas who runs a foundation in north Texas, a nonprofit. She was saying that they were working with stakeholders over the past few months, trying to figure out, gaming out the next five years, the next seven years, what are the communities going to need in Texas? They're going to need funding. They're going to need maternal health funding.

They're going to need -- the schools are going to need a special -- especially, you know -- there's just so much to -- but that's not --

JARRETT: Oh, yes --

ROMANS: What you hear people talk about. They talk about just this decision and the victory of the past 50 years. And -- but, you know, where we go from here is going to be so interesting --

JARRETT: It is a project that was decades in the making that has now come to fruition. All right, there is more news breaking overnight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressing the G7 Summit in Germany. Is the strategy against Russia about to shift?

ROMANS: Plus, Russian forces attacking Kyiv with missile strikes, an apartment building, a kindergarten among Putin's targets. And a deadly stadium collapse and a bull fight in Colombia. The latest on the investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:00]

JARRETT: Happening right now, G7 leaders are holding a session on Ukraine at their summit in Germany. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is addressing them virtually a day after the first Russian strikes on Ukraine's capital in weeks. CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak is covering the summit for us. Kevin, good morning. What announcements are we expecting out of the G7?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we are hearing a number of things that the leaders are preparing to announce here in the alps. One is this purchase, an American purchase of an advance, medium to long-range surface-to-air missile defense system that Ukraine had been asking for. That is something that they're preparing to unveil as soon as this week. Also, new announcements on ammunition and radar heading to Ukraine.

The U.S. and other G7 leaders are also looking to limit the revenue that Russia is getting from oil. Of course, as oil prices are skyrocketing, Russia's oil revenue is actually up despite sanctions on oil and gas on Russia. And so, they have agreed to try and cap the price for Russian oil. It's not necessarily clear how they plan to do that, but they have tasked their governments with going back and sort of figuring out how to do that.

Now, all of this is really meant to try and change the momentum on the ground in Ukraine as Russia continues to make small gains in the east. Leaders really want to try and sort of reinforce Ukraine's ability to withstand forces there. When you saw those strikes falling in Kyiv yesterday, as these leaders were gathering, I think it was a real spine-stiffening moment for them to show unity to Putin as they're gathering here for the G7 Summit, Laura.

JARRETT: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you for your reporting.

ROMANS: All right, let's bring in Josh Rogin; CNN political analyst and "Washington Post" columnist who is watching all of this very closely. Good morning, Josh, nice to see you. You know, you say that --

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

ROMANS: The Biden team is projecting unity in an alliance that has -- that has cracks beneath the surface. You've got Vladimir Putin using energy and food as a weapon to undermine that united front. Inflation is crushing all of these countries. Can this alliance hold here as these months drag on?

ROGIN: Well, Christine, let's hope so, because war is a battle of wills, and the Russian economy and the Russian nation is willing to take a lot of pain in order to do what Vladimir Putin wants, which is to attack Ukraine until he's done. And, you know, what's going to happen is that, as we head into the Autumn and Winter, European countries are going to have to look to their domestic populations --

ROMANS: Yes --

ROGIN: Who are going to be starved for energy, and that Putin knows that. So they can try to cap the price on Russian oil, but that price is what the market will pay. And it's not clear that countries in the global south, for example, will listen to the West when they say, don't buy that oil. Same thing for the other announcement that the G7 leaders made this week, and which is that, they're not going to import Russian gold.

Well, I'm here to tell you that somebody else is going to buy that gold. So, the question is, really, have we spent all of our economic weapons? And if so, what does that mean? You know, when they announce one more radar system here or some more ammunition there, that's all well and good. But we know that these European governments are waivering, and we know that, that's a problem and we don't know what the solution might be.

JARRETT: Josh, you know, obviously, abortion is not the subject for the G7, but the world is certainly watching as America grapples with this decision on Roe versus Wade here at home. It's a tough time for the president to be abroad preaching about democracy while a 50-year- old constitutional right for over half of the population has just been gutted.

[05:20:00]

ROGIN: Well, that's absolutely right, Laura. It's not on the official agenda at the G7, but it's certainly on everyone's minds. And we've seen almost all of the G7 leaders except for President Biden express dismay and lament the fact that the United States which for all of these years has been a leader on urging the world to move towards more support for women's reproductive rights and reproductive health is now moving in the opposite direction.

And essentially, what we've done is, United States has sacrificed that leadership, and that's a step backwards for all of these other countries who believe in that effort. And, you know, moreover, it gives endless fodder to our -- in my opinion, to our enemies and their propaganda, who preach that democracy is too messy to work. And who preach -- say that -- accuse us of being hypocrites on human rights. And you know, I hate to admit it, but in this particular instance, again, in my personal opinion, they have a point.

ROMANS: Hey, Josh, we heard this weekend the president detailing the $600 billion for the developing world in -- you know, in investing in nuclear energy, in solar, in Africa and elsewhere. A move really seen as a counter to China's investments in some of these countries. You just returned from Asia. What's the reaction to this move?

And is this -- I guess -- I guess, on paper, it's a two-pronged approach here. If you're trying to wean the world off of its reliance on Russia and Russian -- you know, fossil fuels, you also need to counter China and China's big investments in the developing world. Is it -- is it -- is it meaningful?

ROGIN: We'll have to wait and see, Christine, to see if the -- if the western governments that are promising $600 billion in infrastructure investment in Asia, if they'll put their money where their mouth is. Because while the war in Russia is the near-term emergency, the competition with China is the long-term challenge. And throughout Asia, what they've seen is a Belt and Road Initiative coming from Beijing that is seeing $2 trillion already spent in their countries.

And now, that money comes with strings and debt-trapped diplomacy and --

ROMANS: Yes --

ROGIN: All sorts of other corruptions and environmental degradations. And for ten years, the world has been asking the West for an alternative. Is this that alternative? We just don't know yet. It's very easy to write the number $600 billion on a piece of paper, but very hard to get that money into the hands of the people and the projects who need it. So they say they'll have $600 billion spent by 2027. In Asia, their question is, who is going to be president in 2027? They don't even know. We don't know. So --

ROMANS: Yes --

ROGIN: Another administration could come in and knock it all go away. Let's hope it doesn't.

ROMANS: And you're right, China is more than a decade into this -- into these investments all around the world, you know, have a foothold and influence. No question. All right, Josh Rogin, thank you, nice to see you this morning.

JARRETT: Thanks, Josh.

ROMANS: All right, President Biden calling out Russia's renewed attacks on Kyiv is barberism, a live report as the capital now reels, following the first missile strikes in weeks.

JARRETT: And the pitch that led to this wild brawl on the baseball diamond.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:25:00]

ROMANS: To the war in Ukraine now. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv under attack, hit by a barrage of Russian missile strikes on Sunday. An apartment building was struck leaving one dead and six others injured. The attacks coming during the G7 Summit in Germany. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is live in Kyiv for us. Salma, good morning. It just seems like quite the coincidence that Russia would attack Kyiv at the same time as G7 leaders are there gathering in Germany to discuss this war.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Laura. A possible message there from President Putin over the weekend. And as those G7 leaders were gathering in Germany, this capital suffered its worst attack from Russia in weeks. We were there at the aftermath as you mentioned, an apartment block devastated by missiles and rescue operations were ongoing for hours. Take a look at what unfolded at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): An attack that rattled Ukraine's capital. In the early hours of Sunday morning, multiple Russian missiles hit a residential area. A nine-story apartment block was struck, leaving families trapped under the rubble. Dozens of rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors out of the ruins, using cranes to reach the steel- smoldering top floor. Natalia Nikitina now watched in horror as first responders tried to rescue her daughter-in-law.

"Losing loved ones is the worst fate", she said. "We do not deserve this." This video from emergency services shows the harrowing rescue. After nearly five-hour ordeal, Katarina(ph) was pulled out injured, but alive.

(on camera): This horrific attack is going to shape up Kyiv. For weeks now, the capital has been relatively secure, relatively quiet. This is absolutely going to shatter that semblance of safety.

(voice-over): Several other residents were wounded, including Katarina's(ph) 7-year-old daughter who was cut by fragments as she slept. At least, one person was killed, police said. The backyard of a nearby kindergarten was also struck, leaving shrapnel where children play. On the scene, the mayor of Kyiv expressed outrage.

MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE: It is senseless war, and we have to do everything to stop this war because thousands and thousands un-guilty people, civilians die.

ABDELAZIZ: There are a number of military facilities in the area, officials say, but the victims here clearly innocent. The air-strikes happening as G7 leaders gathered for a major summit in Germany. A possible message from President Putin.

[05:30:00]