I applaud President Barack Obama’s call, during his commencement address at Notre Dame, for a civil discussion of our differences over abortion. Unfortunately, I see little hope for civility from those who seek to turn abortion into a political wedge issue.

Obama said, “Let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies.” While that may sound reasonable, I suspect it will not appeal to many. Reducing unintended pregnancies requires sex education in public schools and easy access to condoms. Most abortion opponents oppose these measures with equal intensity. Their opposition suggests they are not interested only in reducing abortions, but in controlling the sexuality of other people. They want to use government to impose their values on our society.

Claude Cookman

Bloomington