PORTLAND – Sen. Susan Collins announced Thursday that she will vote in favor of the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to be the next justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Collins said that after consideration, she concluded that Alito will be a fair and evenhanded judge who is committed to precedent and the rule of law.

“Based on the record before me, I believe Judge Alito will be a justice who will exercise his judicial duties guided not by personal views, but based on what the facts, the law and the Constitution command,” Collins said.

Collins, a Republican, said Alito has excellent qualifications and has received the highest possible recommendation from the American Bar Association. She said she was impressed with testimony on Alito’s behalf during his confirmation hearing from seven of his colleagues on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Maine’s other U.S. senator, Olympia Snowe, was still weighing the nomination and has not announced her decision, said spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier.

Alito’s confirmation as the nation’s 110th justice already is assured, with a majority in the Senate pledging to vote for his nomination to replace the moderate Sandra Day O’Connor on the nine-member Supreme Court.

The date of the vote has not been scheduled, but is expected in the next few days.

Nicole Clegg, vice president of the Family Planning Association of Maine and chairwoman of the Maine Choice Coalition, said she was disappointed and surprised at Collins’ decision given the senator’s commitment to abortion rights.

“Supporting Alito for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court puts all reproductive rights in jeopardy,” she said.

Collins has said she doesn’t view abortion rights as a litmus test in the nomination process, but is more concerned with whether a nominee would respect previous Supreme Court decisions.