Sen. Susan Collins Says She’ll Still Vote Against Abortion Rights Bill Next Week

Topline

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will not support a bill to codify abortion rights into federal law when it comes up for a vote next week, she told reporters Thursday, reiterating her belief that the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) goes too far despite the Supreme Court appearing poised to soon overturn Roe v. Wade and let states outlaw abortion.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on May 4, 2022.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Key Facts

Collins told reporters she believes WHPA is too broad, claiming it does not contain exemptions for Catholic hospitals to refuse to perform abortions on religious grounds, CNN and Punchbowl News report.

WHPA would establish a federal right to an abortion and outlaw many restrictions on the procedure, including many that states have previously been able to impose despite the Supreme Court’s precedent, such as mandatory waiting periods and restrictions on medication abortion being administered via telemedicine.

Collins voted against WHPA when it previously came up for a Senate vote in February—and failed 46-48—along with fellow pro-abortion rights Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va).

Collins and Murkowski have separately introduced their own abortion rights bill that would more narrowly preserve the right to the procedure, saying in February that it would preserve abortion rights without “undercutting statutes that have been in place for decades.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday the chamber would not take up that bill instead of WHPA, as it is “not looking to compromise on something as vital as this,” Politico reports.

What To Watch For

The Senate will vote on WHPA next week, likely on Wednesday, Schumer announced Thursday. Though Murkowski and Manchin have not yet commented on whether they’ll support the legislation this time around, the bill is nearly certain to fail, as it needs 60 votes to pass. Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) reiterated Tuesday they’re still opposed to abolishing the filibuster to lower the threshold from 60 votes to a simple majority—though should Collins, Murkowski and Manchin all vote against the bill, it likely couldn’t garner even 50 votes.

Chief Critic

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) disputed Collins’ characterization of WHPA and its provisions for Catholic hospitals Thursday, according to CNN, telling reporters, “There is nothing in this measure that detracts in any way from existing protections based on conscience or religion.”

Big Number

47%. That’s the share of U.S. adults who want federal legislation codifying abortion rights, a Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted Tuesday found, versus only 29% who are opposed to such a bill. Polling has consistently found Americans are broadly in favor of legal access to abortion.

Key Background

The Senate has turned its attention back to abortion rights after Politico released a leaked draft opinion suggesting a majority of justices are in favor of overturning Roe, declaring the 1973 ruling “egregiously wrong.” The draft opinion is from February in a case concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, and the final decision will likely be released in June. Politico’s report on the opinion, which Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed is authentic but shouldn’t be taken as a final ruling, immediately sparked calls from Democrats for Congress to codify abortion rights into law, after efforts had previously stalled after the House passed WHPA in January and the failed Senate vote. Thursday’s comments marked Collins’ first statement on the abortion bill in light of the Politico report, but she previously said the draft opinion is “completely inconsistent” with what Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch told her about their positions on Roe before she voted to confirm them.