Seems to me that almost everyone ~ and absolutely every politically-organized group ~ is willing to accept one kind of killing or another.

Anti-abortionists, as a general rule, have little or no problem with war and capital punishment. And the converse is true as well.

The late Pope JPII preached across-the-board "respect for life" ~ no abortion, no warfare, no executions ~ but his church has not been similarly consistent, certainly not in the US. Many of you will undoubtedly remember the presidential campaign four years ago, when the Catholic Democratic nominee was denied communion because he would (quite properly, as a secular officeholder in a multicultural society) continue to allow legal abortions. But there was no such condemnation of any other form of disrespect for human life

The "pro-life" candidate who bragged about the many execution orders he had signed, and who exhibited such a cavalier attitude toward human life in bomb-targeted cities, got a pass, and even endorsements from the pulpit.

It seems that all a politician has to do in order to win the religious-right vote is to give lip-service to "life," and "promise" to "do something" about the current legality of abortions. (Has anyone noticed that no one ever finds a way to keep such promises?)

The next political scandal, the one I am really looking forward to, will be when some sanctimonious "pro-life" proponent gets caught paying for his mistress's abortion. I think this is almost guaranteed to happen, sooner or later. I'm sure it happens with some regularity; it's just a matter of time before someone gets caught.