With just 52 days until the referendum on the eighth amendment, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) launched its Students for Choice campaign today.
Speaking at the launch today, Co-Director of Together for Yes, Orla O’Connor, said that the eighth amendment forces people “into unsafe and unsupported situations”.
O’Connor said that the campaign is looking for “change, compassion and care”. “We believe that Irish people are fair minded and compassionate”, she said. “We understand that life is not black and white.”
“Voting yes will allow doctors to support their patients.”
The launch was began with a number of students reading out stories of having abortion in Ireland or travelling abroad to obtain one.
Also speaking at the launch was former USI President Maxine Brady. When she was president in the early 1990s she campaigned for the right to travel for abortion and campaign for information on abortion to be available. Brady gave a history of students in Ireland fighting for these rights. USI, she said, did not exist just to fight for those in third-level education, “it was for every young person in Ireland, to give them a voice”.
“Take your part in this campaign, your history is unquestionable…your voices are crucial”, Brady said.
Speaking at the launch, USI President Michael Kerrigan said that travelling abroad is often not an option for students due to finances or getting time off class or even an international student who wouldn’t have the visa to travel. “I thought travelling to England to get an abortion was an option. It took me a week to realise it is not an option for students.”
“I’m confident that if the people of Ireland are educated on the effects of the eighth amendment…they will repeal”, he said. “Students for Choice is launching today, but this has been 40 years in the making.”
USI Deputy President Síona Cahill told the launch: “We will work together to create change.”
“Inform yourself, read the history and see why this matters”, she said. “The stories, the hurt, the isolation, sure didn’t start yesterday on this island.”
It was just last weekend that May 25th was confirmed as the date for a referendum on the eighth amendment.
The repeal campaign, Together for Yes, also launched last month, with Minister for Health Simon Harris attending the Together for Yes launch in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin on March 22nd.
Between September and November last year, USI ran a voter registration drive, signing up over 18,000 students ahead of the historic vote.
Students have been at the centre of the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment, joining rallies and taking to the streets in recent years to support first calls for a referendum and, now, repeal.
