Collins, moderate, drew particular attention – and anger – over her votes to confirm several Supreme Court justices who appear ready to overturn Rowe against Wade.
The message, “Men want WHPA – → vote for, clean up your mess,” was written in chalk and appeared on the sidewalk. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which Collins voted against sending to the Senate in February, will codify the right to abortion in law across the country and ban restrictions on access to abortion. The Senate is expected to vote on proposing a version of the bill Wednesday, a move that is likely to fail amid the Republican opposition. Collins, who presented her own bill with fellow Alaska Sen. Lisa Markowski to codify abortion rights established by Rowe v. Wade, said the Democrats’ measure was too broad. A spokesman for Collins, Wade Butters, told the Bangor Daily News that the message on the sidewalk “was not found threatening.” Collins’ office also said that because the senator periodically receives threatening letters and phone calls, “Capitol police have advised us to notify the local police department when there is activity aimed at her around her home.”
Collins said in a statement to the Bangor Daily News that she was “grateful to the Bangor police officers and the city’s public works officer who responded to the desecration of public property in front of our home.”
Abortion activists and liberals have criticized Collins, who voted to nominate judges Brett Cavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court – both joined three other conservative judges in an expired draft opinion that will overturn Rowe W. Wade. Last week, Collins called the draft opinion “completely incompatible” with what Gorsuch and Cavanaugh “said during the hearings and our meetings in my office,” although she said in a statement that “we will not know the decision and motives of each judge.” until the Supreme Court has officially announced its opinion on the case. “
Asked if she had been misled by Cavanaugh, Collins told CNN: “My statement speaks for itself.”
CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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