Plugs supports and promotes abortion as a high profile politician. Not only should he be refused communion, he should be excommunicated.
The trouble with excommunication is that, unless it's "latae sentenciae" (automatic for one of the very few specific offenses singled out as such) the bishop can't, I think, excommunicate anybody without a canonical trial. Substantive due process. And that can be appealed.
So it doesn't have that satisfyingly instant result.
Whereas turning away a person seeking Holy Communion can be on-the-spot, real time.
But I ain't a canon lawyer (thanks be to God.) Anybody who knows more canon law than I do, jump in here and correct me, please.
OOPs. I meant procedural due process.