WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued this statement following the release of the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization:

The threshold question of whether abortion is legal needs to be consistent at a national level. States can account for regional differences with regulations like parental notification requirements, but the basic right needs to be the same for all American women.

The Supreme Court has abandoned a fifty-year precedent at a time that the country is desperate for stability. This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show both consistency and restraint. Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative. It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government.

This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon.

Earlier this year, Senator Murkowski and I introduced the Reproductive Choice Act to codify the abortion rights established by Roe v. Wade and affirmed byPlanned Parenthood v. Casey. I am also working with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) on a bipartisan bill that would codify Roe, Casey, Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, and Griswold v. Connecticut. Our legislation would enshrine important abortion protections into law without undercutting statutes that have been in place for decades and without eliminating basic conscience protections that are relied upon by health care providers who have religious objections to performing abortions. 

Our goal with this legislation is to do what the Court should have done — provide the consistency in our abortion laws that Americans have relied upon for 50 years.