'Dark Day For Women:' Watson Coleman On SCOTUS Roe V. Wade Decision

MERCER COUNTY, NJ – Calling the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “a dark day for women,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) said the ruling would disproportionately affect women of color and the poor.

In a 6-3 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion in 1973.

“This is a dark day for women, a dark day for freedom, and a dark day in the history of our country. By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has erased half a century’s worth of progress and legal precedent,” Watson Coleman said.

“A world without Roe is a world in which the fundamental right of a person to control their own body is no longer a guarantee. It’s a world in which millions of Americans — especially people of color, the poor, and the working class — will be forced to carry pregnancies and give birth against their will.

The court’s ruling, though controversial, was expected.

In May, Justice Samuel Alito Jr.'s majority opinion draft was leaked to Politico, indicating the court was prepared to take the step.

At least 26 states will most likely make it impossible for a pregnant individual to get a procedure that was completely legal for her mother, grandmother or even great-grandmother, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights research and policy group.

The Congresswoman said becoming a mother was the best decision she ever made, but having a child should be a choice.

“For many, it will no longer be a choice. Without the protections afforded by Roe v. Wade, 26 states are now poised to ban abortion entirely. Many of these states have some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, especially among women of color. Today, five reactionaries in robes eliminated 36 million Americans’ right to make potentially life-saving medical decisions,” Watson Coleman said.

Warning that the decision is only the beginning, Watson Coleman said the “far right has succeeded in setting us back 50 years, they are prepared to set us back centuries.”

According to the Congresswoman, the ruling, which eliminates the fundamental right to privacy, threatens other laws based upon that right.

“It endangers not just the right to abortion, but the right to contraception, the right to love who you love, and the right to marry the person you wish to marry. It is a threat to Americans’ freedom to make basic decisions about their everyday lives,” she said.

In January, New Jersey passed the Freedom of Reproductive Choice act, protecting the right to have an abortion in the state. But activists said the bill didn't go far enough, citing that the bill doesn't require insurance providers to cover the medical procedure. Read more: NJ Abortions Now Protected By Law; Activists Seek Accessibility

(With reporting from Josh Bakan, Patch Staff)

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