Academics and activists joined together to discuss issues surrounding the abortion movement, including the growing militancy of abortion opponents and efforts to strengthen their own causes, at a panel last night in Radcliffe's Lyman Common Room.

The event, part of the Radcliffe Union of Students' Take Back the Night week, was co-sponsored by Students for Choice.

The three panelists were Carol A. Mason, a Bunting Institute fellow, Eileen L. McDonagh, a Murray Institute fellow and Jonathan C. McDowell, a Planned Parenthood activist.

The speakers viewed their roles as supporters of abortion rights through vastly different lenses, ranging from the academic world to the front lines of activism.

While both Mason and McDonagh have turned to more academic examinations of the abortion debate, McDowell has participated in grassroots activism.

A native of England, McDowell became involved when the issue of abortion became personal for him.

He said the local rallies of Operation Rescue in Brookline in 1988 caused him to become active.

"Those people, by and large, are motivated by desire to control other people's lives," he said. "Although they use the words of Christian love, there is a lot of hate in them."

McDowell's activism increased after the 1994 Brookline shootings of an abortion clinic worker and Planned Parenthood receptionist.