“To convict someone of the crime of refusing to commit a crime is a dangerous precedent”
National Right to Life
Even 3,500 miles away, you could see this one coming. Last Thursday, 69% of the 6,600 students who cast a ballot did so in favor of ousting pro-life Katie Ascough as President of the students at University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU).
As The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) reported mid-month, the impeachment referendum began with a petition signed by 1,200 students. They were protesting Ms. Ascough’s decision to remove illegal abortion information from a pamphlet given to new students. Ascough’s pro-life credentials were well known when she ran for the office.
During the preparation for last Thursday referendum vote and in a full subsequent explanation Ascough gave that appeared in the Irish Examiner, she repeatedly made the point she had not turned her back on her promise to “respect the pro-choice mandate of the union.”
But what happened put her in an impossible position. What’s called the ‘Winging It’ magazine, which is given to all new students, carried information that (according to SPUC) “included the prices of abortion in other countries and information on abortion pills, including a promotion for Women on the Web. Providing information on abortion overseas is strictly regulated in Ireland, under the Regulation of Information (Services outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Act, 1995.”
Ascough wrote, “After the books had arrived, a staff member informed me that some of the abortion information might be illegal. I sought legal advice from the Union’s solicitor, who confirmed in writing that distribution of the books was almost certainly illegal and that it would be prudent to avoid proceeding with the book, whether through redesign (if not too late) or cancellation.” It was too late.
I hope she has a good lawyer.
ReplyDelete