THREE STUDENTS' unions, including the national union, US face legal bills of up to £400,000 in the new year if an appeal to the Supreme Court fails to go in their favour.

The appeal, against a permanent injunction preventing the publication of abortion information in student guidebooks, is due to be heard in January 1997 and is the latest chapter in the Society for the of Unborn Children (SPUC) v Grogan abortion information case, begun in the 1980s; the case involved USI and the students' unions in UCD and TCD.

All three unions are jointly liable for costs from the case, which may be as much as £400,000. The costs refer in particular to an appeal to the European Court of Justice which, in 1991, found against an appeal by the students on the State's right to place an injunction on the provision of abortion information.

The unions involved have already paid over £30,000 in costs to SPUC. If the Supreme Court finds against the students, possibly on the basis of the law as it applied at the time of the injunction, SPUC may seek up to £400,000 in costs in the High Court - though such a decision could still be appealed at European level.

The Student Support Trust, which was founded to assist the three unions with their costs, is largely depleted. Earlier this month, prior to the "Shine" fund raising disco in USI's Furnace Club, there was just over £100 in the account. The last major lodgement to the trust was made in late 1995 or early 1996.

There are further difficulties for those involved. According to sources within the student movement, there is no longer a unified approach to dealing with the case. A significant element within USI's leadership believes that the national union no longer has a mandate to pursue the case and should not appeal if the Supreme Court finds against the students, though USI's own policy on the matter requires it to appeal the case until the bitter end. UCD's union also appears to be unwilling to proceed with a European appeal.

The TCD union appears willing to continue to fight the case and may press for an appeal to Europe if the Supreme Court finds against the students and a subsequent application for costs by SPUC is successful.

IF USI DECIDES not to appeal the case further and to contest the application for costs it will be a major blow to those who have fought the case. "It was the last great social campaign conducted by the student movement in this country," one former student leader says. "If they back down now, it will be a tragedy."

The three unions have long been appealing for the Government to intervene on their behalf, arguing that the result of the 1992 referendum on abortion information indicates that the majority of public opinion is behind them - and that they are being penalised for campaigning for something which is now essentially legal in this State.