Obama seeks ‘common ground’ on abortion

SOUTH BEND — President Barack Obama sought “common ground” in the culture war over abortion, in a politically thorny address Sunday at one of the top Catholic universities in the United States.Obama delivered the commencement address for graduating students and received an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame; his being honored ignited controversy there over whether elected officials who do not agree with church teachings should be honored by religious schools.

Referring to those who support the legal right to abortion, as does Obama, and those who oppose it, as Catholic teaching does, the president said: “at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.”

But Americans must find a way to “remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side,” Obama stressed.

“When we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do — that’s when we discover at least the possibility of common ground,” he told graduates.

The audience of several thousand had given the president a standing ovation when he took the stage. Several students waved caps showing Obama logos, while others had crosses displayed in yellow tape atop their caps.

The speech was briefly disrupted by four protesters, including one shouting “Abortion is murder.” They were swiftly escorted from the arena by police and the crowd drowned them out with boos, and chants of Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes we can” and the school slogan “We are ND.”

Obama recognized the interruption and paused. “We’re fine everybody,” he said.

“We’re not going to shy away from things that are uncomfortable sometimes.”

The statement seemed a nod to the fervor with which protesters on both sides have debated the issue in South Bend.

A few hundred activists lined the streets leading to the school’s entrance holding signs with graphic pictures of aborted fetuses and denouncing Obama’s support of abortion rights.

Local media reported the arrests of at least 19 protesters but the campus appeared largely free of disturbances as well-dressed families held picnics ahead of the ceremony.

But there was little common ground to be found among protesters outside the campus gates.

“This nation’s got blood on its hands and we’re going to pay the price for it,” said David McWilliams, 51, who drove 100 miles (160 kilometers) to stand with a pair of red gloves and a t-shirt with the words “Mr. Obama tear down this law: Roe v. Wade” spelled out with black and red tape.

An airplane pulling a banner with a graphic photo of an aborted fetus flew circles over South Bend as protesters sang “Amazing Grace” to drown out a handful of counter-protesters chanting: “Not the church. Not the state. We will decide our fate.”

“There are millions of women whose right to abortion is being compromised by these Christian fascists,” said Sunsara Taylor of the Supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

In introducing Obama, Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins faced head on the controversy that had mushroomed ahead of Obama’s visit.

“President Obama has come to Notre Dame knowing full well that we are fully supportive of the church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life, and we oppose his policies on abortion and embryonic stem cell research,” Jenkins said to applause.

“Others might have avoided this venue for that reason. But (Obama) is not someone who stops talking to those who differ with him.”

Priests for Life national director Frank Pavone, who was leading an alternative service for Notre Dame graduates boycotting Obama, said the university and the president were “trivializing abortion.”

The controversy erupted as Obama prepares to name his first nominee to the Supreme Court, a pick sure to be excoriated by some in the Republican Party if he or she is viewed as too liberal on the abortion question.

The president has attempted to defuse one of the most emotive issues in US public life by arguing that while abortion should remain legal, the government should do all it can to limit unwanted pregnancies.

“Maybe we won’t agree on abortion but we can still agree this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually,” he told the graduating class.

“It has both moral and spiritual dimensions, so let’s reduce the number of (women) seeking abortions. Let’s reduce unintended pregnancies,” he said.

Obama has angered the anti-abortion lobby by reversing predecessor George W. Bush’s restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research and for family-planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas.

A majority of Americans are Christian, but different Christian denominations have different teachings on abortion. The US Catholic minority includes many of the most vocal abortion rights foes. — Mira Oberman, Agence France-Presse