Pro-abortion Republican Sen. Susan Collins (ME) said Wednesday that she supports passing legislation to codify Roe v. Wade into law. This announcement came the same day the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Dobbs, as I covered, is the first case in decades that could overturn landmark cases Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1973 and 1992, respectively. Dobbs surrounds the constitutionality of of 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi.
In a statement shared by NBC News on Wednesday, Collins’ spokesperson Annie Clark clarified that Collins supports passing Roe “protections” into law.
"Senator Collins supports the right to an abortion and believes that the protections in the Roe and Casey decisions should be passed into law. She has had some conversations with her colleagues about this and is open to further discussions," the statement said.
However, Collins previously stated that she would not support the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which is Democrat-led legislation that would codify Roe into federal law.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Collins said, "I support codifying Roe. Unfortunately the bill … goes way beyond that.” Collins added on, explaining that she found parts of the WHPA’s language "extreme."
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who received Collins’ endorsement in 2018, reportedly told her ahead of his confirmation that Roe is “settled law.” But, as The Washington Post reported Wednesday, during the Dobbs hearings, Kavanaugh “repeatedly indicated that he would be open to overturning ‘settled law,’ including Roe v. Wade.”
“The Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-choice on the question of abortion, but leaves the issue for the people of the states, or perhaps Congress to resolve in the democratic process,” Kavanaugh said in the hearings, indicating that he would uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.