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Students have said that the decision of Maynooth Student Union to hold a referendum on abortion with just 8 days’ notice was unfair and compromised debate. Many say that they are now considering leaving the Student’s Union (SU) because they do not wish their fees to fund a campaign to Repeal the 8th amendment.

On April 19th an email was sent around to the entire student body from the Maynooth SU informing them that there would be a university-wide referendum on whether the SU should campaign for the repeal of the 8th Amendment of the constitution. The 8th protects the lives of women and babies in Ireland.

The SU, which every student funds through their university fees, informed the students of their upcoming referendum only 8 days before to vote - which is set to take place on the 27ths of April.

This shocking decision by the Maynooth SU to consider campaigning to remove human rights protections from an innocent and vulnerable portion of the population angered many students who have gone so far as to say that putting this question to a referendum constitutes an unlawful abuse of power by the SU.

Pro-life students are understandably upset for many reasons.  The manner in which the announcement was made, the short of amount of time from announcement to the vote, and the fact that the vote is taking place so close to the end of the semester is very suspect.  All of this suggested that the SU was angling to get a certain answer on this referendum - one that does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the student body.
Student also complained that the referendum goes far beyond the scope of the SU’s power, and that many students lacked sufficient information to make an informed decision on this issue.

“The SU should be focused on defending and advancing the interests of students as part of the internal University community. Campaigning for the repeal of the 8th does not fall into that category,” one student wrote.

Christine D’Arcy, a student at Maynooth, stated, "I, as a student, voted to elect the student union officers. They represent my views as well as many others on diverse and wide ranging issues. I feel it is totally misrepresenting the entire student body for the SU to use their influence, power and funding to promote just one side of a contentious political campaign"
 
At a debate in the University to discuss issues with the referendum, many students said that though they consider themselves pro-choice, they objected to this decision of the SU and strongly defended the right to freedom of expression and the right to fair representation.

Pro-life students produced leaflets and social media memes in the extremely tight time-frame, but they said that the actions of the SU had effectively prevented any real debate.

D'Arcy added, "I will feel alienated by my own SU every single day in a place where my views are dismissed, and frankly I don't see why I should have to pay ever increasing fees to pay Union membership that denies my right to freedom of opinion."