© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Collins Breaks Party Ranks on Hobby Lobby Fix

Maine Sen. Susan Collins is among three Republicans who voted in favor of a Democratic-backed measure aimed at dealing with the U.S. Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision.

Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mark Kirk of Illinois, voted in favor of the measure, which fell four votes short of the 60 needed to move forward, according to The Associated Press.  The final vote was 56 - 43.

The bill would reverse the court's ruling last month that allowed "closely held" businesses whose owners have religious objections to deny women contraceptive coverage.

The bill was backed by all Democrats, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, voted against it, a procedural maneuver that allows him to bring the measure up again for another vote closer to the election.

Collins is being challenged for her Senate seat by Democrat Shenna Bellows, who has spoken out against the Hobby Lobby decision, saying contraception decisions should be left to women, not their bosses or the government.

 

Barbara grew up in Biddeford, Maine. She earned a master’s in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s in English from the University of Southern Maine.