Topline
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Thursday she opposes the Supreme Court’s decision to leave in place a Texas law banning nearly all abortions, as critics pointed to her support for Justice Brett Kavanaugh as pivotal for the decision.
Key Facts
Collins said in a statement to Forbes the Texas law, which bans abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, before most women realize they are pregnant, is “extreme and harmful,” adding she opposes the Supreme Court’s decision.
Collins noted the majority opinion by the Court’s five most conservative justices does not address the law’s constitutionality – rather, it said it was too soon to tell if the state “can or will seek to enforce the Texas law… in a manner that might permit our intervention.”
Collins nonetheless said the Court should block the law from taking effect “while these underlying constitutional and procedural questions are litigated” by lower courts.
In the wake of the decision, critics highlighted Collins’ 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted with the majority on Wednesday, and her stated confidence that his confirmation wouldn’t lead to the Court overturning abortion rights.
Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were also the lone GOP votes last year against confirming Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was also in the majority, though she grounded her opposition in the timing of the vote rather than Barrett’s views.
Key Background
Collins was one of the deciding votes on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, along with Murkowski Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). In a nearly hour-long speech she expressed confidence Kavanaugh would not vote to overturn landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade, arguing he believes justices are “constitutionally dictated to pay attention” to precedent.
Crucial Quote
"I think that a lot of people on the left and pundits have been wrong about how the court has respected precedent. We’ll have to see… I think they would look at precedent,” Collins said in a CNN interview last month when asked about the possibility of the court overturning Roe.
Big Number
7. That’s the number of Supreme Court justices serving on the bench that Collins has voted on since entering the Senate. Of the six current justices she voted to confirm, three – Roberts, Kagan and Sotomayor – were in the minority, and three – Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh – were in the majority along with Barrett, who she voted against.
