Paul Glynn | Contributing Writer
According to UCD’s College Tribune, a petition has been handed in to UCD Student’s Union demanding that the Union reconsider and reverse their current stance on abortion legislation in Ireland. The petition, which was organised by the group ‘UCD Students Against Abortion’, was delivered to Micheál Gallagher, President of the Union, by third-year law student and group spokesperson Samuel O’Connor. The petition comes after UCD students voted in a campus preferendum to adopt a policy of support for abortion upon the request of the woman, similar to one that was held in Trinity by TCDSU in February of this year.
The preferendum took place on the 1st and 2nd of October. With 2527 valid votes cast, 45% of voting UCD students voted in favour of a stance of support for abortion on request of the woman. 8% of the voters voted in favour of UCDSU adopting a policy against the legalization of abortion, while 19% believed that the Union should not take a stance on the issue.
19% believed that the Union should not take a stance on the issue
The petition, handed into the UCDSU offices last Friday, has gathered upwards of 45 signatures. In accordance with Article 6 of the UCDSU constitution, “A referendum shall be called by the Returning Officers on the written petition of not less than 3.5% of the total registered membership of the Union… or on the direction of the council”. With a student population of roughly 25,000, this means that the group will need about 875 signatures in order to call a referendum on the issue.
In the text accompanying the petition, O’Connor writes: “as a student who holds a fundamental moral objection to abortion, the Union’s decision to actively promote a pro-abortion agenda has put me in a position where I no longer feel that my Union adequately represents me or my views.” He asserts that: “every student’s personal beliefs on this delicate issue were respected” by UCDSU’s position before the preferendum.
President Gallagher defended the Union’s position and the outcome of the vote, saying that the Union should be engaging in issues of particular interest to students, as well as highlighting the democratic nature of the vote.
Members of UCD Students Against Abortion have threatened to request to individually disaffiliate from the UCD Students’ Union if the stance is not repealed.
Photo Credit: Thomas Cullen
