Susan Collins Faces Backlash Over Kavanaugh Confirmation Claims

Throughout her campaign, Collins has struggled to reconcile her self-described pro-choice stance with her pivotal vote to confirm Kavanaugh. When the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 abortion precedent in a 5-4 decision in 2022, Kavanaugh’s vote proved decisive. Collins has previously claimed the ruling was a 6-3 margin, suggesting the outcome was inevitable regardless of her support, a statement that contradicts the court's actual record.

In a recent interview with WMTW, Collins maintained she was disappointed by the ruling, insisting there was no way to foresee the outcome. However, records from October 2018 show she explicitly acknowledged public concerns that Kavanaugh would seek to overturn Roe. At the time, reproductive rights advocates warned the senator that Kavanaugh’s history of ruling against abortion access and his praise for past dissents against the precedent signaled his true intent. Lisa Margulies, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Votes in Maine, dismissed the senator's latest defense as a flimsy attempt to avoid accountability, noting that Mainers had actively lobbied Collins to oppose the confirmation because they recognized the threat he posed to federal abortion rights.