Friday, April 20, 2007

         At the risk of being considered impolite, I can’t help but add that every one of the five Justices who upheld the ban on a second trimester abortion procedure (in defiance of expert medical opinion) are Catholic.  Four are conservative Catholics.   I expect that some consider the mere mention of this obvious but salient fact an example of religious bigotry, but advocates of more religion in government who praise the influence of sectarian religious ideals on public policy should be prepared to hear it questioned.  And, I’m not suggesting that judges should, or could, jettison their religious convictions on appointment to the bench.  I’m pointing out the need for religious diversity in the judiciary, given the inevitable influence of religious beliefs on individual morality and opinion.  Isn’t it obvious that in a pluralistic country, law should not reflect and the Supreme Court should not be dominated by one sectarian point of view?