Alito, Abortion, and the Bible

OK, so it seems that Supreme Court Nominee Sam Alito doesn't–or at least didn't in 1985–think there's a right to abortion:

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times.

"I personally believe very strongly" in this legal position, Mr. Alito wrote on his application to become deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin I. Meese III.

More here. (And some reasons–among an almost infinite supply–of why Ed Meese is a horse's ass here.)

But what about the Bible and abortion? Reader Russ Dewey Journalist Jon Basil Utley sends along this disquisition on that topic from The NY Times, which reads in part:

"I can't take you to text that says, 'Don't commit abortion,' " said Michael J. Gorman, a professor of New Testament and early church history and dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University, located in Baltimore. "It just doesn't exist."

Does that mean the Bible has nothing to offer on the issue? Mr. Gorman, who calls himself an evangelical, cites the early church's opposition to abortion and broader themes that suffuse the Scriptures, rather than specific verses: "There's an impetus in the Bible toward the protection of the innocent, protection for the weak, respect for life, respect for God's creation."

Whole thing here. Born-again ex-pres Jimmy Carter recently came out as emhatically anti-abortion here, which as many readers pointed out doesn't necessarily mean he thinks abortion should be outlawed.

And just so we don't confuse religion and the state, let's remember Roger Williams, the visionary Baptist who thought that the Catholic Church was indeed the whore of Revelation and still insisted on a secular government in which all individuals were guaranteed the right of conscience.