Pro-Life Senator Won’t Back Harriet Miers if She Supports Roe 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 5, 2005
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A leading pro-life senator says he won’t support Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers if she tells the Senate Judiciary Committee she believes Roe v. Wade is settled law. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, says he wants to vote for a nominee who will overturn the decision.
Brownback, a possible 2008 presidential candidate, says there is a "good chance" he will vote against Miers if she indicates any support for Roe v. Wade during the hearings.
Brownback sits on the judicial panel and told newly-confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts, during his hearings, about the damaging effects the landmark decision has had on women and unborn children.
During an interview with ABC News’ "Good Morning America," Brownback said Roe v. Wade, which ushered in an era of 44 million abortions and millions of women victimized, should be reversed "because of the effects that Roe v. Wade has had on this society and the unborn."
Brownback said he understood Miers couldn’t say how she would vote on a potential case because she would be "prejudging" the case and would be required to recuse herself. However, he decried how there is "precious little to go on" concerning her record and background on abortion.
"There’s precious little to go on and a deep concern that this would be a Souter-type candidate," Brownback said, referring to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, the justice many pro-life advocates thought would vote against Roe but didn’t.
"The circumstances seem to be very similar," said Brownback. "Not much track record, people vouching for her, yet indications of a different thought pattern earlier in life."
Brownback is expressing the initial concerns many pro-life organizations had when President Bush announced his second nominee for the high court. However, several groups, including National Right to Life, Focus on the Family, and the Christian Coalition, have endorsed Miers’ nomination after reports surfaced showing she’s pro-life.
