Owen Bennett | Editor

NUI Galway Students’ Union has officially adopted a pro-choice policy in support of the national campaign for full reproductive rights, which includes a woman’s right to abortion, whether elective or medically necessary. The policy was decided by a referendum of NUI Galway students earlier this year with over 70% of votes cast in favour of the policy.

NUI Galway Students’ Union joins other Students’ Unions such as TCDSU and DCUSU who have also adopted a pro-choice policy. The Union of Students in Ireland also has a pro-choice policy and at its recent annual congress passed a motion to engage with the Abortion Rights Campaign.

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TCDSU’s pro-choice campaigning stance was adopted last March following a college-wide preferendum on the issue. 50.5% of those who voted chose option B, ‘abortion on request of the woman’. A motion on the issue was subsequently passed at SU Council, the highest decision-making body of the students’ union, mandating officers to campaign for the liberalisation of abortion laws in Ireland.

In a statement released today, NUI Galway Students’ Union President, Paul Curley, said ‘students have never shirked from topics that shape our society, and this is another example of students standing up to be counted. This referendum was requested by our members and conducted in a fair and democratic manner. The decision to adopt a pro-choice policy isn’t something that taken lightly, but it is the democratic decision of the majority. The Students’ Union is now committed to working with other Students’ Unions and organisations which hold a similar view to ensure that women will have the right to make a decision about their reproduction – whether that’s choosing to continue with a pregnancy or choosing abortion.’