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Moreover, whatever the intent of the bishops, the effect of the policy would be catastrophic for the political neutrality of the church. As a simple matter of fact, both of our major parties have become polarized on the issue of abortion. The Democratic Party, with almost no exceptions, is now the pro-choice party. The G.O.P., with still a sliver of dissent, is now the pro-life party. By saying that Communion will be denied anyone who is pro-choice, the church will in effect be barring any major Democratic official from the sacramental life of the church. It would be essentially anathematizing one major political party--the party that was once, ironically, almost synonymous with the Catholic Church.
This, of course, is the religious right's dream: to destroy the Catholic base of the Democratic Party, create a hard-right rump of true believers and integrate the latter into the G.O.P. But it shouldn't be the church's mission to foster this scheme. You only have to look around the world to see what happens when politics and religion become fused. Politics suffers; faith is corrupted; the space for personal conscience is erased. In this case, the most sacred sacrament of Catholic faith would have a partisan tinge. "My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus said. It is up to the bishops to keep it that way.