During his commencement speech at Notre Dame, President Obama bravely wades hip deep into the abortion debate.

Addressing a sharply divided audience at the storied Catholic university, Obama conceded that no matter how much Americans "may want to fudge it ... at some level the views of the two camps are irreconcilable."

"Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction," he said. "But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature."

Obama asked the crowd if it's possible "for us to join hands in common effort."

"As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate?" he asked. "How does each of us 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?"

The president told the audience a story about an e-mail he received during his 2004 Illinois Senate race from a doctor who opposed abortion. The doctor, according to the president, said he voted for Obama during the Democratic primary but felt he might not be able to support him in the general election.

A self-described Christian who "was strongly pro-life," the doctor had been offended by an entry on Obama's Senate campaign Web site that said Obama would oppose "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose." "The doctor said that he had assumed I was a reasonable person, but that if I truly believed that every pro-life individual was simply an ideologue who wanted to inflict suffering on women, then I was not very reasonable," Obama said.

He said the doctor urged him not to change his views, but rather to speak about the issue of abortion in "fair-minded words."

After instructing his campaign staff to change the wording on his Web site, Obama said he prayed "that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me."

"When we do that -- 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."

The president said that while "maybe we won't agree on abortion ... we can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make."

He urged supporters and opponents of abortion rights to "work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term."

He also endorsed the drafting of a "sensible conscience clause" to "honor the conscience" of doctors and other medical workers opposed to abortion.

Let's "make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women," he said.

One thing our President can never be accused of is a lack of balls. He expressed his point of view about this very divisive issue in an open and honest way, that demonstrated his own struggles with the complexities of the current debate and his hopes for a more productive dialogue in the future.

I for one am very proud of my President right about now.

Somebody asked me in the comment section of an earlier post just what my personal opinion was of this particular issue and I guess I cannot commend our President's honesty while refusing to step up to the plate myself.

First off it is important to state that I am very much an advocate for children's rights and have worked in that field in one capacity or another for many years. Because of that the very idea of ending the life of a baby is very disturbing to me on a personal level.

However I am also aware that most abortions occur in the first trimester of pregnancy the end of which the fetus is less than three inches long and is just beginning to look like a human being. If a woman wishes to end her pregnancy this is the time that is best to make that decision. In my opinion.

Like I have said I have worked with children for many years, including children from homes where they suffered terrible abuse from the very people who were supposed to love and protect them. They often have physical problems related to drug or alcohol use by their mother's during pregnancy and emotional difficulties connected to the abuse and neglect they suffered during their formative years. For many this becomes a life sentence of institutional care or shuttling from one foster care home to another, sometimes reaching double digits, before they are old enough to leave the care of OCS and eventually re-enter the system as criminals after breaking the law as young adults.

If asked whether this life is a better choice for them than to never have been born I find myself leaning toward the second option.

However the idea of a young woman ending her pregnancy for simple convenience is still a very difficult concept for me to accept and I want very much for there to be MUCH more aggressive sex education courses offered in our school system that lays out EXACTLY what it takes to care for a child, and the possibilities that exist for contracting an STD as well. The fact is that teens are going to have sex, but giving them the tools to explore their sexuality safely is a much better choice then simply condemning them for putting an end to an unwanted pregnancy.

In the interest of transparency I guess it may be important to note that my own mother gave birth to me at fifteen years old. I was witness to her difficult life, string of broken romances (finding somebody who wants to love you and your three children is a lot to ask), and despair over the lack of money and the kind of life she wanted for her children.

I asked my mother once if she regretted her choices and she looked into my eyes and told me absolutely not. But I have to say, as her son, I certainly wish she could have had the kind of fairytale life that she so clearly deserved. If I had never been born I would never have known what I was missing but my mom may have had a life filled with happiness, and passion, and serenity.

My point is that it is not up to me to tell a woman what to do with her body, not even my own mother. And neither should anybody else.