Students f lown home by unions for abortion poll
IRISH students at British universities are being offered bursaries to fly back to the Republic so they can vote ‘Yes’ to legalising abortion in the referendum this week.
Pro-choice student unions – including those at Cambridge and Oxford University – are offering up to £110 to Irish students to travel home and cast their vote.
An opinion poll yesterday revealed that those supporting the legalisation of abortions for pregnant women up to 12 weeks only had a narrow lead.
The Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution gives equal right to life to both baby and mother – with an abortion allowed at an Irish hospital only if the baby poses a risk to the mother’s life.
Even if the pregnancy is the result of rape, pregnant women who are not at risk must travel abroad for an abortion or face a jail sentence of up to 14 years.
As part of its ‘#HomeToV8te’ campaign, the National Union of Students wants unions to help pay for Irish students to return home to vote on Friday.
It told university branches that under Ireland’s electoral law individuals could accept a political ‘donation’ of up to 126.97 euros, or approximately £110.
The NUS has set up a travel bursary to match student union contributions to a maximum of £55 per student.
Cambridge University student union has taken up the idea – but only if the student intends to vote ‘Yes’ to decriminalising abortion, it has been reported.
The move was criticised by anti-abortion campaigners.
Dr Anthony McCarthy, from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: ‘Using their funds to push for the destruction of unborn Irish babies, rather than offering positive support to pregnant students or other pregnant women to have their babies, reveals how little these unions care about genuine equality and genuine healthcare.’
A Sky Data poll revealed yesterday that 47 per cent of voters in the Irish Republic support legalising abortion for all women up to 12 weeks pregnant, while 37 per cent oppose it.
According to Cambridge University’s newspaper Varsity, its student union was offering a grant of up to £110 for nine students funded by WomCam, the NUS’s Women’s Campaign.
Seven of these places were taken by last Friday – but only for those voting yes, Varsity said.
Oxford University student union will also subsidise students up to £55, taken from its discretionary fund.
Vice president Katy Haigh told the student newspaper Cherwell the values behind the funding were ‘distinctly pro-choice’.
Nottingham University’s student union said it was offering the same amount ‘regardless of your voting intentions’.
NUS women’s officer Hareem Ghani said it had not restricted the money to those voting ‘Yes’.
‘Distinctly pro-choice’