Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorses Graham Platner

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner picks up another endorsement, this time with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. The nonprofit says Platner will be a champion for sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights.

“We know we can count on Graham Platner to fight for everyone to get the essential, life-saving care they need as part of a pro-reproductive rights Senate majority,” said Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.

The announcement comes on the heels of the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade being overturned.

Platner faces incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in this year’s general election. At the endorsement event, Platner once again called out Collins for her voting record.

“I will never forgive Susan Collins for voting for Brett Kavanaugh, which resulted in the overturning of Wade, but I will also never forgive establishment democrats for many years never taking the opportunity to codify reproductive rights in federal law,” Platner said.

Collins’ team points to a memo from Planned Parenthood Northern New England, which cites the senator’s “long history” of supporting the nonprofit. Her team also said they see the leaders of Planned Parenthood become more partisan with each election year.

While Platner was securing the endorsement, Collins spoke on Fox News Monday afternoon.

“I disagreed with the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, but the fact is that whether Justice Kavanaugh were confirmed or not, Roe v. Wade would have been overturned, given the 6-3 vote,” Collins said on Fox News. “I supported the justices like Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Justice (Ketanji) Brown Jackson who voted to sustain Roe. v. Wade.”

Roe v. Wade was overturned by a vote of 5-4.

Platner wasn’t the nonprofit’s first choice. The endorsement had originally gone to Gov. Janet Mills back in April, before she suspended her campaign for U.S. Senate.

“She’s no longer in the race,” Johnson said. “Our vote for Janet Mills had nothing to do with Graham Platner’s strong conviction around reproductive freedom.”

Abortions are accessible in Maine. Mark Brewer, the political science department chair at the University of Maine in Orono, says he doesn’t see abortion being a key issue in this election.

“I think for the non-single-issue abortion voters, abortion in and of itself is unlikely to be a deciding factor,” Brewer said.

Election day is in November.