Abortion clouds Obama event at ND

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is about to take on the country's deep divisions over abortion and stem-cell research as he appears at Notre Dame University.

His commencement address at America's foremost Roman Catholic university ignited a storm of debate that still rages, with anti-abortion groups promising to disrupt the president's appearance.

Obama, an abortion rights and stem-cell research supporter, says abortions should be rare, but legal. He's to receive an honorary degree Sunday.

More than 100 protesters gathered yesterday and 23 marched onto the campus. Police say they arrested 19 for trespassing and four were also charged with resisting law enforcement.

The Catholic Church and many other Christian denominations hold that abortion or the use of embryos for stem cell research amounts to the destruction of human life, is morally wrong and should be banned.