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NJ's Bonnie Watson Coleman as abortion bills head to Senate: 'Blow up their phones'
By
Louis C. Hochman
Published Jul 25, 2022
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Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
By
Louis C. Hochman
Published Jul 25, 2022
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U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said activism for abortion rights, like the kind that got her and 16 other House members arrested outside the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month, isn't likely to stop — and shouldn't.
"I am certain that there will be continuous demonstrations of one form or another, civil, non-violent and legal," Coleman, a Democrat representing New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, told WNYC's Brian Lehrer Monday.
Coleman, several other Congress members and about 20 other people were arrested after allegedly blocking traffic during a July 19th protest of the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision striking down Roe v. Wade. It's now up to individual state legislatures to allow or restrict abortion, though the House on July 15th voted for bills enshrining Roe's protections into law.
The matter next goes to the Senate, where it's expected to face strong opposition from Republicans.
"The Senate across the nation from the red states to the blue states top the purple states, whatever it is they represent, needs to hear we as people in this country believe that a woman has the right to make these decisions in here life, and we need Roe v. wade and the protections which were under that decision to be codified," Coleman told Lehrer.
She encouraged supporters of reproductive rights to "blow up their phones," saying if they do so, "then I honest to God believe that the will of the people will prevail."
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Louis C. Hochman
After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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