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Supreme Court Allows Abortion Pill to Remain on Market; Trump Back on Capitol Hill for First Time Since January 6 Attack; FAA Chief Admits Agency "Too Hands-Off" in Oversight of Boeing. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired June 13, 2024 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Access to a widely used abortion pill is safe for now for millions of Americans after the Supreme Court threw out a challenge to how to use the pill and how the FDA regulates that drug, Mifepristone. And their decision means that the drug will stay on the market as is. It can still also be mailed to patients without requiring them to visit a doctor in person.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the court's unanimous opinion. He said the doctors and anti-abortion groups who brought the case did not have standing. They did not prove injury in order to sue.
Let's talk to the founder and CEO of Whole Women's Health, Amy Hagstrom Miller. Amy, thank you so much for being with us.
[15:35:00]
So the legal fight, according to experts that we've spoken to, is far from over. Because while the court's decision allows access to stay in place, it doesn't exactly protect it, right?
AMY HAGSTROM MILLER, FOUNDER AND CEO, WHOLE WOMAN'S HEALTH: Correct. And as you know, we've had tons of restrictions on access to safe abortion in this country since Roe was overturned in June of 2022. And Mifepristone is by far and away the most popular method for terminating a pregnancy with folks in America.
Almost 60 percent of people we serve at Whole Women's Health choose medication abortion, and nationally it's over 50 percent. With about 20 percent of those cases being seen with telemedicine, like you referenced, the abortion pills by mail, which have grown to be a really important way to get safe abortion to people as abortion is restricted in multiple parts of the country.
KEILAR: And that's one of the services that your clinic offers, tele- visits and abortion pills by mail. What would it mean if you could not provide it that way?
MILLER: It would mean that more people would be out of reach for safe abortion care. Already we're seeing thousands of people in this country forced to travel hundreds of miles for a procedure that oftentimes takes less than 10 minutes or to take two pills to terminate their pregnancy. And so by using telemedicine, which as you know is really common for lots of different medicine that's delivered in this country, by using telemedicine for us to connect with our patients and give them counseling and feedback and allow them to interact with the provider, we're able to get them the safe abortion medication that they need and that they deserve no matter where they live.
SANCHEZ: Amy, are you taking any steps to prepare for potential future legal challenges?
MILLER: Sure. You know, we really would call on elected officials to have an effort to repeal the Comstock Act. It's a Victorian era law that's on the books that has never been repealed. And we feel like medication abortion is still at risk until we can repeal that law.
We also know that anti-abortion extremists that brought this case are not going to stop here. Today's win was a big win and it showed that they were far-reaching and extreme in this strategy. But they won't stop here and we expect further challenges to medication abortion and to access to safe abortion in this country.
And we need to be vigilant and we also need to listen to the majority of people in this country who support access to safe abortion ir- regardless of political party. We're seeing the majority of people in this country upset that abortion has been restricted and looking to elected officials to bring justice and health care to all people no matter what states they live in.
KEILAR: We've seen a bit of a battle line over the issue of in vitro fertilization. And this week we saw Senate Republicans and Democrats introducing dueling bills to protect access to IVF. The Republican legislation permits states to implement health and safety standards around IVF. Democrats have taken issue with that language. I wonder, have you been following this and do you see that as a problem?
MILLER: I have been following this and I think those of us who work in reproductive health care know that it's not just about abortion that our extremists are restricting. They're going for contraception and now they're going for IVF.
And I think it really illustrates that this isn't about health and safety. It's not about protecting our ability to build the families that we feel ready and able to build. It's about power, it's control and it's about politics. And when we look at what needs to happen through the lens of reproductive justice we know that people should have access to safe abortion but they should also be able to have access to whatever they need to have children and to build the families that they want.
It's all connected and it's all part of the future that we are trying to build together.
SANCHEZ: Amy Hagstrom Miller, we appreciate you sharing your perspective with us.
MILLER: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
SANCHEZ: Stay with NEWS CENTRAL. We're back after a quick break.
[15:40:00]
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SANCHEZ: About an hour and a half ago or so, Donald Trump spoke from Capitol Hill. It was his first appearance there since the insurrection on January 6, 2021. The former president was touting unity among his fellow Republicans in the House and Senate.
We should note, this is also Trump's first visit to D.C. since becoming the presumed Republican nominee and now a convicted felon.
KEILAR: That's right. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell described the meeting as, quote, entirely positive.
CNN's Melanie Zanona has been following Trump's day from Capitol Hill. And, Mel, Trump held what was promoted as a news conference. Notably, it was actually not a news conference. A news conference includes questions, which he did not take. What did he say?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes, well, Trump was clearly relishing in the fact that the entire party has really united behind him, including some of his critics, like Mitch McConnell. Now, the GOP leader was not at that press conference, but he was at the meeting beforehand, and the two of them even shook hands with one another. And just what a remarkable, striking image that is and really defines how much the party has fallen in line behind Trump in the years since the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
[15:45:04]
Just take a listen to how Trump described his meeting with the lawmakers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is an outstanding group of people. I'm with them 1,000 percent. There was me 1,000 percent. We agree just about on everything, and if there isn't, we work it out. And we've had a -- I've had a really great relationship with just about everybody here, with everybody here, just about all of the senators. And if it wasn't fantastic, it gets worked out. And we have one thing in mind, and that's making our country great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZANONA: Now, heading into this meeting, lawmakers were hopeful that Trump would talk about campaign strategy and a policy agenda, and there was some of that. Trump did talk about abortion. He advised Republicans not to be afraid of the issue, to be smart, to not be too extreme. But most of this meeting, according to all the lawmakers that I talked to, was really a gripe session and an airing of grievances. I mean, he talked about the DOJ as no good, dirty bastards, quote, according to some lawmakers that I talked to. He said the charges against him were, quote, bogus.
He gloated about how most of the House Republicans who voted to impeach him over January 6th are no longer here. One of those members was in the room, and he called that member out. He also went on a bizarre rant about Nancy Pelosi. At one point, he was even making jokes about Taylor Swift and Hannibal Lecter.
So some very freewheeling speeches, classic Trump today in both the House and the Senate. But most members received this very warmly. They even presented him with a birthday cake and sang him happy birthday -- Boris and Brianna.
SANCHEZ: Yes, the former president's birthday is tomorrow, notably. So there's that. Melanie Zanona, thanks so much for the reporting.
Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, a major admission today from the FAA about Boeing and troubles the company's had lately. We'll be right back.
[15:50:00]
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KEILAR: Major admissions today from the head of the FAA, Mike Whitaker, telling lawmakers that his agency has been, quote, two hands off when it comes to Boeing and is partly responsible for the aircraft manufacturer's safety problems.
SANCHEZ: Whitaker made the comments during testimony before a Senate committee. We have CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean here with the details. Pete, what else did Whitaker say?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is really, he says, about paperwork over people and that the FAA should have had better visibility when it comes to this door plug blowout that happened on that Alaska Airlines flight of 737 MAX 9 back on January 5th. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker says that the agency has ratcheted up its oversight of Boeing, also Boeing suppliers like Spirit AeroSystems. There are more inspectors in place there now.
He says before that, the agency was mostly concerned about paperwork and trying to do audits from afar. This happened today during the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Boeing oversight. That earned some criticism from one of the ranking members of that committee, Senator Ted Cruz.
He says that Boeing must certify each airplane to make sure it is truly safe to fly because remember, during that door plug blowout, it ultimately came out that Boeing ultimately did not put those bolts in place to keep that door from blowing out on board that flight back in January. I want you to listen now to this soundbite from FAA Chief Mike Whitaker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE WHITAKER, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: Let me also acknowledge the FAA should have had much better visibility into what was happening at Boeing before January 5th. FAA's approach was too hands-off, too focused on paperwork audits, and not focused enough on inspections. We have changed that approach over the last several months, and those changes are permanent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: Now the FAA has rolled out a new oversight plan of Boeing to try and stay on top of this, but remember, there is a mountain of investigations facing Boeing following this issue and other quality control problems it has. There's an NTSB investigation. There is this FAA audit, also Commerce Committee hearings, and a Department of Justice investigation that Boeing may have violated a deal that it made to settle a fraud charge after the 737 MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people abroad.
FAA Chief Mike Whitaker says tomorrow he will visit a Boeing factory in Charleston, South Carolina. Of course, there will be more fireworks on The Hill next week when Boeing outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun is in front of a different Senate committee about what that airplane maker could have changed leading up to these incidents of late.
KEILAR: It's pretty alarming that the FAA was so laissez-faire with Boeing here. What fixes has he put in place?
MUNTEAN: The big thing here is that the FAA wants to make it so that there is not just designees that they have, people who they essentially employ on the roles of Boeing but are responsible to give the proper paperwork to the FAA. The FAA really wants to make it so that there are actual inspectors, actual FAA employees on the ground, boots on the ground, at places like the Renton factory where the 737 MAX 9 is built.
KEILAR: All right. We'll see how this moves ahead. Pete Muntean, thank you so much, and we'll be right back.
[15:55:00]
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SANCHEZ: Bird and Magic. Fraser and Ali. Brady and Manning. And now, Kobayashi and Chestnut. World record holder Joey Chestnut may not be competing at Nathan's famous 4th of July hot dog eating contest this year, but now fans can relish watching Chestnut face off against his rival, Takeru Kobayashi, on Netflix this Labor Day. The two glizzy gobblers are going to face off in a Netflix special titled Chestnut vs. Kobayashi Unfinished Beef.
KEILAR: Netflix's announcement comes just a day after Chestnut was banned from competing in Nathan's hot dog eating contest because he signed a deal with rival plant-based food company Impossible Foods. Chestnut is a hot dog champ, winning the so-called mustard yellow belt 16 times. In the meantime, Kobayashi is said to have popularized competitive eating as a sport in 2001 when he almost doubled the previous record for most hot dogs eaten in the Nathan's hot dog eating championship.
[16:00:04]
The last time these two faced off was in 2009 when Chestnut edged past Kobayashi. So it's going to be a pretty big competition when we do finally get to see them together.
SANCHEZ: It is a big deal and you can laugh at me, but it is extremely competitive and these are legit athletes. They train and it's --
KEILAR: Oh, Boris.
SANCHEZ: I mean Joey Chestnut elbowed somebody in the face as he broke a world record. He's a beast. All respect to Joey Chestnut.
KEILAR: THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper.
SANCHEZ: Starts right now.
