THE president of University College Dublin’s student union has been impeached after she removed abortion information from a student magazine.
Katie Ascough has been forced to stand down after 4,540 voted for her impeachment in Thursday night’s 6,611-strong vote.
That represents a 69 percent vote in favour of removing the pro-life SU president.
Speaking after the result, Ascough thanked her campaign team and said she had fought “the good fight”.
“I have been open and honest. I have respected the law,” she said.
“I feel confident that I've done all that I could do for the students that I have been elected to represent.
“This is a sad day for me."
Calls to impeach Ms Ascough came after she removed advice on abortion services from a ‘freshers guide’ for new students.
Re-printing the magazine cost the union a staggering €8,000 (£7,000).
Ms Ascough argued that she withdrew the information because it is “illegal” under Irish law, advice she said came from the union’s lawyer, Richard Hammond.
The SU president has previously accused the campaign against her of bullying, saying the calls for her impeachment were “illegitimate”.
Nevertheless, 828 of UCD’s 1,151 science students voted in favour of her removal, with just 317 against.
The university’s 952 business students were less convinced – with 521 voting in favour of her impeachment, and 422 against.
