[ cheers and applause ] >> i love y'all! thank you for having me. >> announcer: this is "nightline." tonight, breaking news. dozens perish. the ghastly discovery in the back of an 18-wheeler in san antonio, texas. >> 46 that are deceased. >> a truck full of migrants, many found dead. some rushed to local hospitals, including children. plus, after roe. as abortion bans take effect in states across the country. some women desperate for options. >> one person wanted to know how much bleach should i mix with my cold drink to take to end my pregnancy. >> and some doctors scrambling to help. >> outside of our normal service area. tennessee, texas, oklahoma,

arkansas, mississippi. we are seeing those folks already coming to us p. >> one state legislator wants anyone helping a woman cross state lines for abortion to be prosecuted. >> i am interested in protecting the life of all children not just in the state of missouri but across the country. and a house ifddivided. >> how intense have your arguments been over this issue? >> well, there's been some words. some words you can't say. >> inside the debate between a mother and daughter. >> announcer: "nightline" will be right back.

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good evening. thanks for joining us. we begin with breaking news out of san antonio, texas. a horrifying discovery. 46 people found dead in the back of an abandoned 18-wheeler. in sweltering heat. with 16 more including four children rushed to nearby hospitals. >> found a trailer with the doors partially open. opened them up to take a look and found a number of deceased individuals inside. >> investigators believe the victims are migrants, saying tonigt they suspect the tragedy is part of a human smuggling operation, one of the worst in the state's history. authorities say the truck had no air-conditioning. >> the patients that we saw were

hot to the touch. they were suffering from heatstroke, heat exhaustion. no signs of water in the vehicle. >> police say three people have been taken into custody. >> tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy. so i would urge you all to think compassionately and pray for the deceased. >> and of course we'll have the latest updates overnight and on "gma" in the morning. we turn now to the clash over abortion rights. abc news congressional correspondent rachel scott has traveled the country covering this issue in the months leading up to the supreme court's historic decision. tonight she's reporting from illinois and missouri, one state where abortion is legal and the other illegal. >> reporter: tonight -- the divided states of america. as a nationwide firestorm continues following friday's supreme court decision that overturned roe versus wade.

over the weekend many americans taking to the streets. from new york -- >> we will rise up. >> reporter: -- to mississippi. >> your baby is alive right now. >> reporter: to california in protest. others celebrating -- >> roe v. wade -- >> i honestly cried tears of joy. >> reporter: the conservative majority of the highest court in the land clearing the way for states to outright ban abortion services for the first time in nearly 50 years. >> today's historic supreme court decision is a victory for the sanctity of life. >> what i would say is this was wonderful news in the defense of life. every life is precious. >> reporter: health care providers just miles apart now divided by varying laws. >> are you bracing to see a sur surge in patients? >> this is ground zero and we're bracing for impact for sure. >> reporter: right now six states are enforcing near total abortion bans. >> i said to her do you realize you're the last woman to get a legal abortion in alabama? and she said yeah, and i'm so

grateful. >> there is no doubt that we're going to end up with haves and have nots. people who have resources will get out of this part of the country to get care. people without those resources will not have that option. >> reporter: in the coming weeks and months a total of 26 states are likely to ban or severely restrict access to abortion. >> there's a range of laws that sort of all are known as trigger bans. so they're not all total bans. some of them prohibit abortion after six or eight or ten weeks of pregnancy. that's still a significant rduction in access to abortion. and the exceptions in these laws look different from state to state. so some do have exceptions for abortion in the case of rape or incest. some do not. there's a range of approaches to how exceptions for the life of the woman are described. some say life. some say life or health. >> reporter: in missouri one of the 13 states with such trigger laws and where almost all

abortions are now banned, republican lawmaker mary elizabeth coleman says this victory is decades in the making. >> when i was a little girl i said i'm part of the pro-life generation and we would say we're the generation that's going to end roe. i didn't expect that we would see it maybe even in my lifetime. and certainly not while i was still serving. >> you didn't expect that trigger law to actually go into effect. >> no. and actually we drafted it in a way that had three different ways for it to be enacted because we weren't sure that there would be a republican majority even when it would ultimately happen because i thought we were writing a bill for 40 or 50 years from now. i think that roe was a disastrous opinion that was not based in anything in the constitution. to be able to write a bad decision is i think a real victory for our country. >> reporter: coleman is pushing legislation aimed at preventing health care workers in missouri from helping their patients get abortions in other states. you would like to crack down on abortion providers from helping women in this state get appointments and access to abortion in other states. >> what i would like to see happen is people's activity in

the state of missouri follow the law in the state of missouri. and if people are going to choose not to do that and to violate the laws of our state then they will be liable under the penalties in our code for that activity. >> reporter: do you want to stop women in missouri from traveling out of state to get an abortion? >> so i don't think there's anything that the state can do or should do. and i'm certainly not interested in limiting a woman's movement. but what i am interested is protecting the life of all children. not just in the state of missouri but across the country. our laws and our constitution mean we have to focus on providing and pushing for legislation either in congress and having national federal legislation that's going to guide these things, and then also in missouri making sure that people aren't aiding or abetting violating the laws in the state of missouri. >> reporter: just 15 miles away across state lines in illinois abortion is still legal. >> how can i help you? first and last name. >> reporter: health care providers at the fairview heights clinic have been

fielding calls all day. >> right now he with see patients six days a week eight hours a day. but soon that will be ten hours or twelve hours a day. eventually we'll probably add sunday to the mix. >> reporter: have you seen patients today traveling from out of state? are they frantic? can you give us a window into those? >> yeah. our first couple of patients were from out of state today. our first patient was from arkansas. our second patient was from oklahoma. so that will continue to be the case. but outside of our normal service area. tennessee, texas, oklahoma, arkansas, mississippi. we are seeing those folks already coming to us. >> reporter: but for some that won't be an option. what is the impact of low-income women, women of color? does this put women at risk? >> absolutely. we know that all of these bans and restrictions impact them the most. no matter how robust of a system we can set up to help folks travel to our clinic here in illinois, there will always be people that don't make it. >> reporter: studies show 49% of abortion patients have an income below the poverty line.

in louisiana where the maternal mortality rate is one of the worst in the nation, especially among black women, advocates say they are receiving a flood of calls. >> if you have a job where you're being paid hourly and you're being paid minimum wage, how easy would it be for you to be able to leave your job or, or existing kids, to leave to drive somewhere, to be driven somewhere or drive somewhere to have an abortion and then come back? it wouldn't work for them. >> reporter: dionne haywood is executive director of women with a vision in new orleans. since roe was overturned, she's been receiving calls from desperate women. >> one person wanted to know how much bleach should i mix with my cold drink or juice to take to end my pregnancy. and so we're saying absolutely don't take bleach. >> the majority of patients we see here are persons of color.

the majority already have one or more children. we are looking at women who are already struggling financially. they're trying to take care of the families they already have. and wyet now they're told that their choice is gone. >> reporter: kathleen pittman is the administrator at the hope medical group for women in shreveport, louisiana, where abortions resumed today after a judge temporarily blocked their statewide ban from going into effect. >> as of this morning, we were granted a temporary restraining order in new orleans, and so for now we are up and running again. we will resume procedures tomorrow. how long that will last i do not know. >> reporter: the order remains in effect until the end of next week. but pittman says she fears the worst is still yet to come. >> i fear that we will be closed permanently. i fear that women will be forced to continue pregnancies they can't care for. i fear women will show up in

emergency rooms in very bad situations from complications. i fear more women will die. literally. >> reporter: while some states have near total bans on abortion, others declaring themselves safe havens. 16 states plus washington, d.c. have laws that explicitly protect access to abortion care. >> we will continue to protect patients from any state who come to our states for abortion care. >> reporter: the governors of california, washington and oregon even forming a self-proclaimed west coast offense, welcoming women seeking abortions with open arms. the state of oregon also donating $15 million to community-based organizations like the lillith clinic in portland. >> we feel incredibly fortunate to be on the west coast. we are fortunate to have leaders who not only promote pro-choice policies but i think go the distance and are proactive in figuring out how we can protect access to abortion care.

>> reporter: but grayson dempsey fears that investment won't be enough to sustain a continued influx of patients. >> i don't think that that 15 million is going to be the answer to all of our problems. i think that that needs to be an initial investment in the infrastructure that we build up in the state, making sure that we have the workforce to meet the demand, making sure that we are training the next generation of providers, making sure that clinics have the infrastructure in place to be able to serve this huge surge in patients. >> reporter: for women and health care providers across the country no matter where they live, a post-roe world is the new normal. >> i have to say that i don't think any place in the country is going to be untouched by this decision. so even in the states that will continue to provide robust access to abortion, there will be a significant change because there will be an influx of individuals from other states and that's going to impact the availability of people in that state to access abortion care. everyone is going to feel the

impact. >> our thanks to rachel. up next, a house divided. the rift between the mother and daughter over the abortion debate. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 1 week. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant.

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the abortion battle has divided the nation, causing a split between families, neighbors, and friends. tonight our deborah roberts takes you inside the rift between a mother and daughter. >> you put that baby inside of you, you are responsible. >> no. >> yes, you are [ bleep ] responsible. >> okay, well we're just going to never agree on this, baby

doll. >> reporter: that's kathleen wallish and her mom nicole sparring about abortion rights on a podcast for the cut and vox media. the two are very close but strongly disagree on the topic of abortion. kathleen, a writer, is vehemently pro abortion rights. her mother is not. it's a familiar family feud to many. a house painfully divided. >> until you are pregnant you don't know how you will feel about that fetus inside you. you don't know that. >> there's a whole world of other experiences. whatever maternal bond or instinct or like magical spiritual moment that you experienced, that's not universal. >> reporter: nine months after kathleen recorded that podcast and penned her article for the cut, we sat down with mom and daughter to discuss their decade-long disagreement. >> hi, mom. >> reporter: it was just days before the supreme court would make its landmark new ruling overturning roe versus wade.

when do you think abortion should be legal and not legal? >> before 16 weeks. after 16 weeks i don't think that it should be. >> reporter: and what is it about 16 weeks for you? >> the feeling. you feel the baby inside you at that point. >> reporter: every pregnancy's unique. but on average women are able to feel movement from their fetus for the first time between 16 and 20 weeks. why is it so important for you to try to change her mind? >> i have the right to control my own body, my own life, my own future, my own destiny. >> reporter: when kathleen was conceived her mom nicole was a 21-year-old college student. she met kathleen's dad back in 1988 on a summer break. kathleen's parents eventually married. more than 30 years later nicole still recalls that first visit to a doctor. >> she showed me just the picture of where the fetus was at that point. and to me that looked an awful lot like a baby. >> reporter: so abortion was off

the table for you? >> was off the table immediately. >> reporter: life was a little tough. did you regret it? >> never. not for a moment. i just looked at her and said did the world exist before she came along? because i don't think it could have. >> reporter: that sentiment at the heart of this heated argument between mom and daughter. an anti-abortion origin story kathleen finds problematic. >> i feel like so much of her position about abortion, the way it was framed to me growing up was i'm against abortion because i loved you so much. i don't want to be that. i don't feel that way. i don't want to be the reason anybody is against abortion because now i feel like that's limiting my own freedom. and my own power to choose my own future. >> reporter: you two had an enlightening discussion on your podcast. let's see if i can play this. >> it just feels like i'm the reason she's so pro life.

and i don't want to be that. like i don't want to be a pro hoof -life mascot. >> reporter: she doesn't want to be a pro-life mascot. >> you're not. you're not. you're just a wonderful person that is in this world. and you're my daughter. >> reporter: for you, kathleen, to know that you formed her opinion against abortion. >> i hate it. >> i'm sorry. we don't have to hate each other because we don't agree on something. >> i will always love you and i -- it wouldn't be our relationship if this wasn't something that i could talk to you about and disagree with you about and try to convince you on. >> we do have quite a few things in common. reading the same books. >> reporter: for these two a possible new turn in a debate both say holds very little middle ground. >> the idea that now that there are so many states that are

starting to enact laws that are prohibiting abortion, some of them oklahoma, very stringent laws, texas, what was your reaction to those moves? >> i have to say a little bit of fear. >> reporter: fear? >> yeah. because as much as i don't really agree with it for me it's a huge change. and anytime you lose a freedom, even one that is controversial, that's frightening to me. >> reporter: and kathleen is smiling over there. >> i'm so happy. >> reporter: is that progress in your mind? >> yeah. i feel like that's what i would say when you -- when a freedom is taken away, that's terrifying. and it just -- oh, mom. >> reporter: the supreme court overturned roe vs. wade. the decision 6-3 in favor of mississippi with five conservative judges voting to

overturn roe. >> roe being overturned is something that i've been preparing for, but the final decision feels gutting. even if she and i disagree about this, she loves and supports me. so she's changing her votes, she's signing petitions, she's sending me supportive text messages. i do think that's a special quality of hers. >> we'll be right back. i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com most bladder leak pads were similar.

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and that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. wool see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.