Sen. Susan Collins won't back abortion rights bill, arguing it contains 'extreme' language
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of "the few remaining Republicans who support abortion rights," said Tuesday she opposes Democrats' Women's Health Protection Act, "which would prohibit states from enacting restrictions on abortion through fetal viability," the Los Angeles Times reports. Collins' opposition likely means the bill won't garner 50 Senate votes, reports Forbes.
The legislation is intended to codify Roe v. Wade in the wake of Texas' incredibly-restrictive abortion law, which criminalizes abortion after six weeks and financially incentivizes private citizens to sue anyone who aids and abets in the abortion-seeking process.
Collins said she supports codifying Roe, but opposes the bill because it would weaken the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, "which protects a person's ability to exercise their religion," writes the Times. She also said she found parts of the bill's language "extreme."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"This 'carve out' would be unprecedented, and I do not believe it is necessary to codify Roe," Collins said.
Meanwhile, women's health clinics in neighboring states are reporting an influx of out-of-state patients from Texas as a result of the law, writes The Wall Street Journal.
The House is expected to approve the bill Friday; Democratic leaders in the Senate "are considering whether to bring it to a vote." The Biden administration has also urged Congress to pass the legislation, per Forbes. Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
