Group puts info case on vote agenda

THE ONGOING abortion information case, involving USI and the students' unions in TCD and UCD, is likely to be a topic of debate…

THE ONGOING abortion information case, involving USI and the students' unions in TCD and UCD, is likely to be a topic of debate in each constituency as student elections loom.

In TCD, this has already led the formation of the Women's Alliance to campaign on the issue - and the receding possibility of a Government bailout in the event of the Supreme Court finding against the students and leaving them with costs.

At the time of writing, the WA was schedeled to lead a march to Dail Eireann tomorrow. In fact, the march is scheduled for just after the final hustings for Thursday's sabbatical elections in TCD, in an effort to ensure that all candidates are forced to put their cards on the table on the issue.

Incidentally, this year's presidential candidates include one Fine Gael councillor for Laois, James Daly, who represents the exotic-sounding borough of Luggacurren, although this did not appear on his manifesto. Whatever happened to the good old days when all sabbatical officers were wasters?

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Finally, the TCD student council voted last week not to support a boycott of the Blood Transfusion Services Board. The decision followed complaints by USI that the BTSB was discriminating against homosexual and bisexual men, and their partners, by refusing to take blood from them.

USI indicated that a boycott by students of the BTSB might be a consequence of the BTSB's actions, although the BTSB has invited the representative bodies involved to discuss the issue with them. Last week, TCDSU indicated it would not support a boycott and decided no member was to dissuade anyone from giving blood at the BTSB's twice-yearly visits to the university.