St Angela’s College Sligo Students’ Union voted last night to support a pro-choice stance, the latest union to come out in support of abortion rights reform ahead of a vote on the eighth amendment next year.
In a vote that saw over 20 per cent of students turn out, an overwhelming proportion of voters – 83.1 per cent – chose to adopt a pro-choice stance. Online voting was in operation for the roughly 1,000 students of St Angela’s, in keeping with the college’s usual practice.
The campaign for the adoption of a pro-choice stance ran for a week prior to the vote, with no opposition campaign. The college’s Repeal the Eighth Society ran the pro-choice campaign.
St Angela’s is also an affiliated union of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). USI has become a prominent voice in the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment and many students’ unions across the country hold pro-choice stances.
Aoife Deasy, the President of St Angela’s College Sligo Students’ Union, speaking to The University Times, said of the result that “it means we can run information sessions and organise lobby days”.
The union is now “justified” in campaigning for a repeal of the eighth amendment, she said.
St Angela’s College became part of NUI Galway in September 2016. The college specialises in home economics, education, nursing, health sciences and disability studies. It has a predominantly female student population and has been active in campaigning for student welfare issues, such as raising awareness of the various paths to higher education.
