'Concerned' Susan Collins has signaled support for codifying Roe v. Wade. Critics say it’s a 'con job'

When Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voted in favor of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, the pro-choice Republican insisted that he considered Roe v. Wade settled law. But with the High Court now hearing oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Kavanaugh appears likely to vote in favor of overturning Roe. Collins has been arguing in favor of codifying the protections of Roe into law, but her critics are pointing out that she helped put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court three years ago.

On Wednesday, December 1 — the day in which the High Court began hearing oral arguments in Dobbs — a Collins spokesperson, Annie Clark, told NBC News, “Sen. 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.”

Collins, however, opposes the pro-choice Women's Health Protection Act of 2021, which has passed in the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised that the bill will get a vote in the Senate, although Collins believes it goes too far in its current form and favors a modified version. And even if Collins and Senate Democrats can work out a compromise bill, it would still have to meet the 60-vote demand of the filibuster in order to pass in the Senate.

Clark told NBC News, “Unfortunately, the House Democrats’ bill goes far beyond codifying Roe and Casey. For example, their legislation would severely weaken protections afforded to health care providers who refuse to perform abortions on religious or moral ground.”

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Collins’ critics believe that her support for codifying Roe v. Wade is too little too late. Attorney Max Kennerly tweeted:

The Atlantic's Norman Ornstein posted:

Here’s what some of Collins' other critics have had to say on Twitter: