Pro-Abortion Bullies Force Out SU President

27.10.2017

Katie Ascough, the President of UCD’s Students’ Union has been impeached, following a campaign led by students enraged by the fact that she is pro-life.

The referendum was called after Miss Ascough, acting on legal advice, stopped the union from publishing information on abortion in a publication aimed at first year students.

Just over 20 per cent of UCD students took part in the impeachment vote. Of those, 69% voted in favour of impeachment, while 31% voted against. The overall turnout was 6,611.

Speaking after the result, Miss Ascough thanked her campaign team and said, “This is a sad day for me, but it is also a sad day for our university. Universities should be a place of freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of association.”

The pretext for the impeachment proceedings was Ascough’s decision to order the reprinting of thousands of copies of a freshers’ week student guide, because it contained information on abortion in other countries and information on abortion pills. The reprint cost the union over €7,000.

Miss Ascough said she ordered the reprint because to have gone ahead with distribution would have been illegal and could have exposed the union and her personally to a criminal record and a fine.

She has published legal advice she received to this effect and said “a group of bullies” were behind the impeachment campaign.

The impeachment campaign, led by law student Amy Crean, said Miss Ascough would have been aware that student unions in Ireland have been publishing illegal abortion information since current legislation was put in place more than 20 years ago, and that no union had ever been prosecuted or fined.

RTÉ. October 27.