Questions About Clarence Thomas

Tom Clancy is way off base in berating Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder for asking about Thomas’ views on abortion (Commentary, July 5). It is just one more contribution to a bitter dialogue that has become increasingly politicized and polarized.

Clancy correctly denounces the Ku Klux Klan for opposing Kennedy on the basis of religion, but he fails to note that what may have been the key to Kennedy’s victory was his assurance that he would not let his religion influence his official conduct.

In recent years, an increasingly conservative Supreme Court has been steadily chipping away at the wall of separation of church and state that once seemed to be our country’s main contribution to the development of modern democracy. Now the likely overthrow of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion seems sure to incite fierce political battles in many or most of the 50 states.

I would never oblige Thomas to undergo an abortion; I only ask him to be tolerant of the decisions of others. If he truly believes in judicial restraint, let him remember that abortion was not legally or religiously forbidden anywhere before the 19th Century, long after our Constitution was enacted. Thus it is entirely proper that his views on this important issue be fully examined.

RUTH UTTER

Long Beach