While Obama wants us to open our minds on abortion - like many others today - I am a bit skeptical: just like I personally like a 'no junk' sign on my letter box, I do think my own model of 'no junk' into my mind works better. This is junk: let's try and limit unwanted pregnancies by extending the reach of abortion.

Obama seeks 'open minds' on abortion

May 18, 2009 Article from:  Agence France-Presse

BARACK Obama called on Americans to "open their minds" over the abortion debate in a controversial speech at one of the nation's top Catholic universities.

A few hundred activists lined the streets leading to the school's entrance holding signs with graphic pictures of aborted fetuses and denouncing Mr Obama's support of abortion rights and the invitation to deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame.

Referring to those who support the legal right to abortion and those who oppose it, as Catholic teaching does, the president acknowledged that “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 demonising those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side,” Mr Obama stressed.

...

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.

Full text at The Australian