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New Orleans' court system collapsed under Katrina, but some saw hope for change

By Alejandra Marquez Janse,

Ari Shapiro, Sarah Handel

Published August 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM CDT

Legislation allowing families to sue medical providers and drug manufacturers over suspected abortions passed a House committee on Monday.

With New Orleans under water, people incarcerated there were bused out to detention facilities across the South. Their records didn't go with them, massively complicating their legal cases.

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Alejandra Marquez Janse

Alejandra Marquez Janse is a producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered. She was part of a team that traveled to Uvalde, Texas, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary to cover its impact on the community. She also helped script and produce NPR's first bilingual special coverage of the State of the Union – broadcast in Spanish and English.

Ari Shapiro

Ari Shapiro has been one of the hosts of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine, since 2015. During his first two years on the program, listenership to All Things Considered grew at an unprecedented rate, with more people tuning in during a typical quarter-hour than any other program on the radio.

See stories by Ari Shapiro

Sarah Handel

New Orleans' court system collapsed under Katrina, but some saw hope for change

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