Although the possibility that Miers sees nothing wrong with Roe may seem slight, it cannot be ruled out given how little is known of her constitutional thinking. More plausibly, Miers may believe Roe was wrongly decided yet resist overturning "settled law" to which judges, legislators and millions of ordinary Americans have become accustomed during the last three decades.

 The problem with trying to guess Miers' judicial philosophy based on her religion is that one should have nothing to do with the other. A justice who votes to reverse Roe should do it for the right reason: not because abortion is wrong but because the Constitution, properly understood, leaves the regulation of abortion to the states.

 The reason matters because abortion is not the only issue the Supreme Court will confront during the next few decades. If Miers simply would replace Roe author Harry Blackmun's result-oriented jurisprudence with her own, shaped by the teachings of her religion, she would be no less a threat to the Constitution than the liberal judicial activists whom conservatives love to condemn.

 Not so long ago, the president's partisans were accusing Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee of trying to bar Catholics from the bench by opposing judicial nominees who consider abortion immoral. Since "people of orthodox religious beliefs" are against abortion, the pro-Bush Committee for Justice said, automatically disqualifying anti-abortion nominees is tantamount to imposing a religious test for public office.

 Now Miers' supporters are touting her faith as one of her main qualifications for the Supreme Court, which suggests that a nominee with different religious beliefs (or none at all) would be less fit. Apparently religious tests are OK as long as they work in the president's favor.