Opposing sides of the abortion debate looked for common ground but found little at a packed discussion at the ARCO Forum last night.

The panel, which featured national leaders from abortion rights and anti-abortion movements, was a joint effort of the Students for Choice, Harvard Right to Life and the Institute of Politics' student advisory committee. It was cosponsored by a dozen student groups ranging from the Salient to the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters' Alliance.

"I can say without drama that abortion is one of the most divisive issues the United States has had to contend with since slavery," said former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, who moderated the panel. "We are here to raise consciousness, not to raise hell."

But despite the stated goal of finding common ground, the discussion veered into a polarized debate.

Before entering the IOP, students were checked for identification by police officers and led past the yellow caution tape stretched across the forum entrance.

Inside, members of the sponsoring student groups were segregated by white streamers on the auditorium floor.

Bill Baird, director of the national Pro-Choice League, began the discussion with an account of his personal role in the abortion-rights movement and a graphic description of the dangers of illegal abortion that visibly unsettled the audience.

He suggested that the two sides could reach common ground by focusing on "reducing abortion with more contraception and birth control distribution."

But that was almost the last mention of common ground during the evening.

The panelists then stated their positions in turn. Supporters and opponents of abortion rights, separated by the moderator, drew applause from their allies in the standing-room-only audience but silence from others.

The issue of violence against abortion clinics and doctors provoked heated debate.

Gloria A. Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood, said, "In the U.S. a small but loud minority are allowed to intimidate the pro-choice [movement]."

But Dr. Bernard N. Nathanson, a founding member of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) who later declared his opposition to abortion, decried the use of violence.

"I compare [those who advocate violence] to John Brown," he said. "I consign them to the lunatic fringe."

Baird, who was the target of a shooting by anti-abortion activists, assigned the blame to mainstream leaders of the anti-abortion movement, telling Nathanson to "call off your hound dogs."

He claimed that Nathanson's "propaganda turned the mentally deranged loose." Simpson asked Baird to stop his comments.

Baird's remarks were so contentious that some audience members booed at one point.

Serring M. Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, countered Baird, saying "only with anti-abortion do they hold the movement responsible for the actions of the criminally ill."

During almost two hours of debate, the speakers touched such diverse topics as the rights of the fetus, eugenics, the history of feminism and free will and morality.

As the event went on, Simpson's interruptions and cautions to the participants increased. During one argument between Baird and Nathanson, he advised them to "get on with it or do it in another forum."