Clues About Miers Increase Confusion

It is getting harder to determine Harriet Miers’s positions on key issues, as the Washington Post reports on page one today.

On the one hand, we have earlier reports that Harriet Miers supported a constitutional amendment to ban abortion; on the other, these new Washington Post reports of Miers speeches in which she seems to be saying that she opposes a government ban on abortion.

Unfortunately, the Post does not, at least so far, appear to have posted the transcripts of these newly-reported speeches, so all we’re left with is more confusion.

Addendum: It is later in the day now, and the Post has posted links to two PDFs of 1993 speeches by Harriet Miers on its webpage. The links are:

Spring 1993 Harriet Miers Speech to the Executive Women of DallasSummer 1993 Harriet Miers Speech on “Women and Courage”

I read both speeches, and remain as confused as ever. Even when read in context, the first speech appears to endorse keeping abortion legal — a position hard to reconcile with her 1989 answer on a Texans United for Life questionnaire, in which she indicated support for a constitutional amendment banning abortion.One hopes the answer is not that Ms. Miers tailors her views to suit her audience.



The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.