Students to continue lobby to legalise abortion

THE Union of Students in Ireland (USI) will continue to push for the legalisation of abortion in Ireland, despite strong opposition to the move at its annual congress yesterday.

Delegates voted 73 to 65, narrowly in favour of a motion calling for USI officers to lobby the Government and other relevant bodies to develop greater access to abortion services for all women in the State.

Kelly Mackey, welfare officer at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire, said a crucial voice which remained absent from the debate was that of the 6,000-plus Irish women who travel to Britain yearly for abortions.