As Supreme Court hears abortion case, Planned Parenthood criticizes Collins, backs Gideon

Planned Parenthood Action Fund launched a digital ad campaign on Wednesday calling attention to the ways they say Sen. Susan Collins has put Roe v. Wade at risk.

On the same day, the health care and advocacy organization’s local affiliate also held a round-table promoting one of Collins’ potential challengers, Democratic Maine House Speaker Sarah Gideon.

The events coincide with the first oral arguments before the Supreme Court on a case questioning the legality of a restrictive Louisiana abortion law that, if declared constitutional by the Court, could undermine abortion rights nationwide.

Collins gets blame for Kavanaugh

Still from Planned Parenthood digital ad.

The video ad criticizes Collins, saying she “turned her back on Mainers and voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.” Kavanaugh, who was confirmed to the Court in 2018, has a record of being hostile to Roe.

Other ads in the campaign call out President Trump and another Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), for laying the groundwork for abortion rights to be reversed, proclaiming that Trump “vowed to see Roe v. Wade overturned,” and Tillis “asked the Supreme Court to consider taking away our right to safe, legal abortion.”

“The president and members of Congress who put our rights and health care at risk are on the wrong side of public opinion,” said Jenny Lawson, vice president of organizing and engagement campaigns with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “Let’s be clear: The Supreme Court isn’t considering a case that could upend abortion access by accident. It’s by design, and the president and Sens. Thom Tillis and Susan Collins share responsibility.”

The case brought before the Supreme Court, June Medical Services v. Russo, challenges the Louisiana law’s requirement for doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

Back in December, Maine and 20 other states asked the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Louisiana law, with Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey arguing that the law places an  “undue burden” on patients looking to access abortion services.

The law is nearly identical to one of the laws the Court struck down in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016.

On the potential constitutionality of the law, the Supreme Court appeared split along conservative and liberal lines. During oral arguments on Wednesday, Kavanaugh questioned whether critics of the Louisiana law would argue that “admitting privileges laws are always unconstitutional,” or whether the facts should be considered state-by-state. Kavanaugh replaced Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was often a swing vote and who sided with the court’s liberal wing in the Texas abortion case.

Abortion foes are hoping that, with Kavanaugh on the bench, the court to uphold the Louisiana law and set a new standard for how far states can go in imposing abortion restrictions.

Abortion takes center stage in Senate race

Drawing a clear distinction between herself and Sen. Collins, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon, who has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood and its Maine affiliate, responded to the ongoing legal threats to Roe during a reproductive rights roundtable in Portland on Wednesday.

“Reproductive health care is under assault by the Trump Administration and far-right judges, and Senator Collins has sided with Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump on nearly every judicial nominee,” Gideon said. “From birth control to cancer screenings to abortion, Mainers and Americans rely on organizations like Planned Parenthood for essential health care — and as Maine’s senator, I will always defend their reproductive rights.”

Nicole Clegg, the senior vice president of Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund, called out Collins’ record of appointing anti-abortion judges to federal benches in a statement released after the event.

“Susan Collins played an instrumental role in packing the courts with judges who had a record hostile to reproductive rights, and now those same judges are deciding cases that impact those rights,” said Clegg. “Reproductive freedom is on the line right now in the Supreme Court and Mainers deserve a Senator who will stand up for reproductive rights day in and day out.”

Photo: Sara Gideon speaks at a roundtable at Planned Parenthood in Portland on Wednesday. | Official campaign photo