Speeches by Miers Scrutinized for Insights (Said Abortion was a Matter of "Self-Determination")

Seattle Times ^ | 10/26/2005 | Jo Becker

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

WASHINGTON

[safisoft]

That is their MO. Remember they piled on Bennett without knowing or caring about the context.

What they did to Bennett was pathetic. The same is true with the Minutemen - calling them "vigilantes" was disgusting. And the White House wants people to give Miers the benefit of the doubt. Right.

Add to that the White House hosting of the bag-man for the Munich massacre (Mahmoud Abbas) and having the unmitigated gall to say Israel should do more; and you know that this Administration is getting what they deserve.

[brushcop]

Yes, exactly right, and all those millions pushed into gas chambers and then thrown into ovens--deal with it. I'm always grateful for folks who stand on principle and take a stand regardless, their reward will be great.

The appeasers, apologists and go-along-to-get-along types are the ruination of this country; their legacy is death, dishonesty and selfishness, of which we have an overabundance.

[little jeremiah]

I agree with you 100%. Those who espouse evil openly are not as dangerous as the mealy mouthed supporters who try to appear to be moderate fence sitters.

[pawdoggie]

It's looking more and more as if the White House intended a tried to find an exact ideological match for Sandra Day O'Connor (as Justice O'Connor is today) when they nominated Harriet Miers. How can even "religious conservatives" (read: "one issue: abortion") trust this woman now?

[Stellar Dendrite]

ping

[NixonsAngryGhost]

It seems as though this is a Neoconservative rather than a traditional Conservative appointment. Its damned weird.

[Rodney King]

Uhh, in case you didn't know, Souter is gay.

[Rodney King]

ROFLMAO

[line drive to right]

Thanks for you, too, taking a stand.

[Cicero]

The problem is, 40 million murdered babies haven't had much of a chance at "self determination."

I understand that the Bush defense of this speech is that it's OK, because she didn't say "individual autonomy."

Well, the babies are just as dead, whatever word you use to describe it.

[counterpunch]

Compare Harriet Miers's answer to question #28 on the Senate Judiciary Committee's questionnaire paraphrasing the wording of the majority opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 case which reaffirmed Roe v. Wade and expanded abortion rights:

"Any decision to revisit a precedent should follow only the most careful consideration of the factors that courts have deemed relevant to the question. Thus, whether a prior decision is wrong is only the beginning of the inquiry. The court must also consider other factors, such as whether the prior decision has proven unworkable, whether developments in the law have undermined the precedent, and whether legitimate reliance interests mitigate against overruling."

—Harriet Miers


"So in this case, we may enquire whether Roe's central rule has been found unworkable; whether the rule's limitation on state power could be removed without serious inequity to those who have relied upon it or significant damage to the stability of the society governed by it; whether the law's growth in the intervening years has left Roe's central rule a doctrinal anachronism discounted by society; and whether Roe's premises of fact have so far changed in the ensuing two decades as to render its central holding somehow irrelevant or unjustifiable in dealing with the issue it addressed."

U.S. Supreme Court
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHEASTERN PA. v. CASEY, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)


The court must also consider other factors, such as whether the prior decision has proven unworkable
So in this case, we may enquire whether Roe's central rule has been found unworkable

whether developments in the law have undermined the precedent
whether the law's growth in the intervening years has left Roe's central rule a doctrinal anachronism

whether legitimate reliance interests mitigate against overruling
whether the rule's limitation on state power could be removed without serious inequity to those who have relied upon it


Miers parroted Souter, O'Connor, and Kennedy's exact reasons for not overturning Roe v. Wade while professing her deep abiding respect for stare decisis.

Miers says "Judicial activism can occur when a judge ignores the principles of precedent and stare decisis. Humility and self-restraint require the judiciary to adhere to its limited role and recognize that where applicable precedent exists, courts are not free to ignore it. Mere disagreement with a result is insufficient to justify ignoring applicable precedent"

Souter, O'Connor, and Kennedy refer to the stare decisis of Roe no less than 11 times in their opinion, making sure to cement it as Court precedent. Miers's answer binds her to deference.

We have now learned that Miers plagiarized part of her 1993 speech to the Executive Women of Dallas directly from PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHEASTERN PA. v. CASEY, when she used the unattributed words of Justice Anthony Kennedy's concurrence in support of abortion, saying, "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life."

None of this should give anyone comfort in the least.
It is all a very strong signal from her that she will not vote to overturn Roe.

 

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

I can't believe we're still discussing this nomination.

How long will it take for the president to realize that he's made a blunder of colossal proportions?

[counterpunch]

I need to retract the part about 1993 speech to the Executive Women of Dallas.
She didn't actually echo those words, apparently... only their sentiment.

[counterpunch]

I need to retract the part about the 1993 speech to the Executive Women of Dallas.
Apparently Miers did not actually echo those exact words, only their sentiment.
My bad.

[churchillbuff]

Oh, great. This is exactly what I wanted to hear. Sounds like Miers thinks Chelsea Clinton's parents are, as she might say, "COOL!""""

She sounds like that woman general who was a favorite of Clinton's -- was it Gen. Kennedy? I don't remember her name, but it seemed all she talked about was womens issues and glass ceilings.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Claudia Kennedy.

Would-be opponent of intrepid Republican visionary John Warner.

(Prolonged eye roll.)

[OldPossum]

I liked your comment: "Makes you wonder what the WH is really about..." I concede that I don't know what the inhabitants of the WH are really all about but I am certain of one thing: they are not supportive of the cultural conservatives, and likely never were.

[Italia222]

The comments in response to my other posting were exactly what I expected from the anti abortion fanatics. Way to go guys, you proved me right. 40 million babies, death, blah, blah, blah. Such impassioned rhetoric really moves me. How very Christian. You are justified to blow up a clinic or deny a woman something she needs to do and is the right thing to do if the circumstance calls for it. I am just as conservative as you but never on this issue. A fetus is not a baby. Guys have no business even discussing the self determination of a woman's body. As I said, abortion is never going away, it's time to move on.

[SteveH]

Uhh, in case you didn't know, Souter is gay.

Well, ... sorry, now I do ... Maybe they could have a "Platonic" relationship...

Oh well ;-)