I get so tired of the self-excommunication line: People who see nothing wrong with abortion and see nothing wrong with calling themselves Catholic on top of it certainly see nothing wrong in receiving communion without benefit of confession.
They will NOT "excommunicate themselves" for the simple reason that those in authority ALSO do not bother exercising their moral authority by excommunicating those Catholics who publicly advocate abortion.
Really, why Should we expect more from those in the pew than from those in the heirarchy?
I cannot verify this but I had heard that a bishop in Italy excommunicated anyone that voted for the communist party. I do not doubt this nor would I be surprised to see similar actions in America for voting democrat in the coming years. Remember, we win in the end.