Row over ‘illegal’ abortion information removed from student magazine

Ms Ascough took the decision after receiving legal advice from UCDSU’s solicitor that the information would have breached the Abortion Information Act 1995, which restricts the dissemination of detailed information about abortions. Any person or organisation that breaches the Act can face a fine of up to €1,900.

As a result of Ms Ascough’s order, the redacted version of the magazine had to be reprinted at a cost of over €8,000.

Ms Ascough does not share UCDSU’s support for the “legalising of abortion in Ireland upon request”, reaffirmed in a 2016 student referendum. However, she insisted the decision was not based on her own politics and was endorsed by a majority on the Board of Trustees.

Four other sabbatical officers, Brian Murphy, Robert Sweeney, Niall Torris and Eoghan Mac Domhnaill, have condemned Ms Ascough’s decision. Mr Murphy told the University Observer that the whole executive team knew that the information was illegal, but that its publishing was a conscious decision directly mandated by union policy.

The Winging It magazine contains other potentially illicit information, such as how to remove a wheel clamp. When contraception was illegal in Ireland, UCDSU installed a condom dispenser on its premises.

Speaking at the UCD Law Society’s much anticipated Eighth Amendment debate, the Society’s records secretary Caoimhe Gethings departed from her comedic introductory speech to criticise Ms Ascough’s decision as both undemocratic and a waste of UCDSU funds. “How many microwaves could have bought with eight grand?” she posed, to laughter and applause.

The row comes as the battle for the hearts and minds of Irish voters spreads to university campuses across the country following Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s announcement in June that a referendum on the Eighth Amendment would be held next year.

Kevin Burns, Irish Legal News