Anti-abortion protesters heckle Obama at Catholic university

Nearly 40 people were arrested as they tried to enter the University of Notre Dame to protest at President Barack Obama’s appearance at commencement.

At least 39 people were taken into custody on trespassing charges, police Sgt Bill Redman said, including Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as “Roe” in the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion. She now opposes abortion.

Mr Obama’s commencement speech yesterday capped weeks of protests at the most prominent US Roman Catholic university.

Critics have condemned the university’s decision to invite Mr Obama, who supports abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, and some have called for the resignation of the Rev. John Jenkins, the university’s president.

In his introduction for Mr Obama, Mr Jenkins reiterated the school’s support for the church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life but applauded Mr Obama for coming to the school.

“Others might have avoided this venue for that reason, but President Obama is not someone who stops talking to those who differ with him,” he said.

Mr Obama thanked graduates for their “maturity and responsibility”, acknowledging that his appearance “has not been without controversy”.

Hundreds of people attended an outdoor Mass and rally on campus, while students who decided not to attend the commencement went elsewhere on campus for prayer. Students opposing the Obama invitation had urged peaceful protests.

Victor Saenz, a philosophy graduate from Mexicali, Mexico, said attending the ceremony “was something I just couldn’t do” because he believed Mr Obama’s invitation violated a 2004 statement adopted by US bishops saying Catholic institutions should not honour those who do not adhere to church teachings.

In his commencement appearance, Mr Obama, a former law professor, also received an honorary law degree.

Bishop John D’Arcy, whose diocese includes Notre Dame, joined the rally and called students “heroes” for expressing their anger over the invitation to Mr Obama.

Some students who attended the rally carried signs declaring “Shame on Notre Dame” and “Stop Abortion Now”. Many wore anti-abortion T-shirts, one of which depicted a leprechaun (the school mascot) throwing a baby into a rubbish bin and the words “May 17, 2009, The day the dome was forever tarnished”, which referred to the school’s famed golden dome.

Sunsara Taylor, a New York City resident and a member of abortion-rights group Abortion on Demand, said outside the school’s gates that “there was a voice missing” in the controversy over Mr Obama’s visit.

“If women don’t have a right to decide if they have a child, women aren’t free,” she said. “We need to expand abortion access and abortion rights and lift the stigma. Foetuses are not babies and women are not incubators.”

School spokesman Dennis Brown said most of the arrests were at the school’s front gate, where most of the protesters angered by Mr Obama’s campus appearance had gathered.

He also said three people were ejected from the commencement venue after shouting anti-abortion slogans during Mr Obama’s speech.