Susan Collins continues to gaslight Mainers on her abortion stance. Regardless of her claims about her stance on abortion, she voted to confirm Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh who overturned Roe v. Wade in the disastrous Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling. Even after the fallout, Collins proclaimed that she did “not regret that vote” to confirm Justice Kavanaugh. When Collins had a chance to stand up for Maine women, she decided to vote against the Women’s Health Protection Act which would’ve restored Roe v. Wade.
Collins voting for anti-abortion judges goes beyond the Supreme Court. She voted to confirm a judge who argued that Mifepristone should have it’s FDA approval restricted despite it being safely used with FDA approval for over 20 years. Collins voted to confirm multiple judges who upheld abortion bans.
2017: Susan Collins Voted To Confirm Neil Gorsuch To Be An Associate Justice To The United States Supreme Court. In April 2017, Susan Collins voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch by a vote of 54 to 45. [Senate Vote 111, 4/7/17; Congressional Actions, P.N. 55]
2018: Susan Collins Voted To Confirm Brett Kavanagh To Be An Associate Justice To The United States Supreme Court. In October 2018, Susan Collins voted for confirming Brett Kavanagh to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed Kavanagh by a vote of 50 to 48. [Senate Vote 223, 10/6/18; Congressional Actions, P.N. 2259]
Justice Kavanaugh And Justice Gorsuch, In The Dobbs Decision, Overturned Roe V. Wade. According to NPR, “In a historic and far-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists. […] Joining the Alito opinion were Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by the first President Bush, and the three Trump appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.” [NPR, 6/24/22]
Collins Reaffirmed That She Did “Not Regret That Vote” To Confirm Justice Kavanaugh To The Supreme Court. According to News Center Maine, “Sen. Susan Collins: ‘I do not regret that vote. I do disagree with Justice Kavanaugh’s vote. I would point out that in that decision several Supreme Court Justices whom I supported voted the other way. That includes Justice Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Jackson. So, I have supported a great number of Supreme Court justices. When I look at a justice, I look at their qualifications, their integrity, their background, their experience in reaching a decision. Obviously, I'm disappointed in that decision, which turned abortion issues back to the states. It has not had an impact on the state of Maine in that name actually expanded its law.’” [News Center Maine, 6/16/26]
Collins Claimed That She Doesn't Regret Her Vote For Justice Kavanaugh And Claimed That “You Can Never Predict How Someone Will Vote.” According to Boothbay Register, "Since her election in 1996, she has voted to confirm eight of the current Supreme Court justices and said she regrets none of those decisions. 'I don't. What I've done in every case is look at the qualifications. You can never predict how someone will vote,' she said. 'A little-known fact is I'm the only Republican to vote for all three of the current Democrat-appointed female judges.'” [Boothbay Register, 9/2/26]
Collins Said She Would Vote For Kavanaugh Again. According to the New York Times, “Publicly, Ms. Collins appears unbowed. ‘I do not regret that vote,’ she told reporters in Portland in June. She went even further after an event at a fire station in Randolph, Maine, this month. ‘I would vote for him again, yes,’ she said, according to audio acquired by an operative for American Bridge, a major Democratic super PAC.” [New York Times, 8/1/26]
Collins Claimed That She Was “Very Surprised” By Kavanaugh’s Vote To Overturn Roe. According to Politico, “I was very surprised by it because he told me he considered Roe to be settled law. If you consider Roe to be settled law, I don’t think you overturn it. Having said that, I agree with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who said at her hearing that you can’t ask a Supreme Court nominee or any judicial nominee how they’re going to vote, nor can they tell you.” [Politico, 9/2/26]
Collins Claimed That She Doesn't Regret Her Vote For Justice Kavanaugh And Claimed That “You Can Never Predict How Someone Will Vote.” According to Boothbay Register, "Since her election in 1996, she has voted to confirm eight of the current Supreme Court justices and said she regrets none of those decisions. 'I don't. What I've done in every case is look at the qualifications. You can never predict how someone will vote,' she said. 'A little-known fact is I'm the only Republican to vote for all three of the current Democrat-appointed female judges.'” [Boothbay Register, 9/2/26]
2003: Kavanaugh Wrote In an Email That He Questioned If Roe Was “Settled Law.” According to PBS, "In 2003, while he was working at the George W. Bush White House, Brett Kavanaugh wrote that he wasn't sure every expert saw the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling as settled law. After the email became public last week, Kavanaugh told senators at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing that those words did not have any reflection upon his personal views. Democrats, however, argued that the email ran counter to Kavanaugh's assertion that he does see the case as 'settled law.'” [PBS, 9/6/18]
Kavanaugh Refused To Promise To Not Overturn Roe During His Confirmation Hearing. According to Spectrum News, “Kavanaugh, however, refused to make any promises during his hearings that he would not vote to overturn Roe, saying it would violate judicial norms to do so.” [Spectrum News, 5/3/22]
2017: Susan Collins Voted To Confirm James C. Ho To Be A U.S. Circuit Judge For The Fifth Circuit. In December 2017, Susan Collins voted to confirm James C. Ho to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. The Senate confirmed Ho by a vote of 53 to 43. [Senate Vote 317, 12/14/17; Congressional Actions, P.N. 1108]
2018: Susan Collins Voted To Confirm Stuart Kyle Duncan To Be A U.S. Circuit Judge For The Fifth Circuit. In April 2018, Susan Collins voted to confirm Stuart Kyle Duncan to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. The Senate confirmed Duncan by a vote of 50 to 47. [Senate Vote 82, 4/24/18; Congressional Actions, P.N. 1410]
2019: Susan Collins Voted To Confirm Bridget S. Bade To Be A U.S. Circuit Judge For The Ninth Circuit. In March 2019, Susan Collins voted to confirm Bridget S. Bade to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit. The Senate confirmed Bade by a vote of 78 to 21. [Senate Vote 51, 3/26/19; Congressional Actions, P.N. 213]
2019: Susan Collins Voted To Confirm Kenneth Kiyul Lee To Be A U.S. Circuit Judge For The Ninth Circuit. In May 2019, Susan Collins voted to confirm Kenneth Kiyul Lee to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit. The Senate confirmed Lee by a vote of 52 to 45. [Senate Vote 110, 5/15/19; Congressional Actions, P.N. 373]
2022: Susan Collins Effectively Voted Against The Women's Health Protection Act Of 2021, Which Would Codify The Right For Health Care Providers To Provide Abortion Services And The Right For Patients To Receive Abortion Services. In May 2022, according to Congressional Quarterly, Susan Collins voted against the “motion to invoke cloture on the Schumer motion to proceed to the bill that would statutorily establish that health care providers have a right to provide and patients have a right to receive abortion services.” The vote was on a motion to invoke cloture. The Senate rejected the motion by a vote of 49-51. [Senate Vote 170, 5/11/22; Congressional Quarterly, 5/11/22; Congressional Actions, H.R. 3755]