Today, USI welcomed polling results commissioned from RED C by Amnesty Ireland to determine public opinion on access to abortion ‘without restriction as to reason’, and on 5 other grounds covered by the Citizens’ Assembly ballot.

USI President Michael Kerrigan noted,

“USI has been leading the charge on access to reproductive rights since the 1980s. It’s clear that the public are becoming more, and more informed about the issue and are starting to come to their own conclusion: people must have a choice over their own bodies.

“Public opinion is far more in line with the recommendations made by the Citizens’ Assembly than media outlets would have us believe. Ensuring access to abortion regardless of circumstance is a priority for USI. This is a matter of healthcare not being enshrined in our constitution, and put back into our own hands.”

The following key findings emerged:

  • 60% of those who completed the poll indicated a preference to vote ‘on request’ (‘without restriction as to reasons’) which mirrored the 64% of the Citizens’ Assembly
  • Only 5% of the Citizens’ Assembly voted for access on request without any gestational limits, where 21% of respondents to Amnesty Ireland poll supported access on request without gestational limits.
  • Support for access to abortion in cases of a risk to health of the woman was higher in this poll (89%) than in the Citizens’ Assembly (78%), with 58% of poll respondents stating a preference for no gestational limits, compared with just 20% of the Citizens’ Assembly members.
  • Support for access to abortion in cases where the pregnancy results from rape (85%) was slightly lower than in the Citizens’ Assembly (89%).
  • Majority of those in favour responded that access should be provided without gestational restrictions (40%).
  • The majority support for access to abortion for the woman’s socio-economic reasons was 57% in this poll compared with 72% in the Citizens’ Assembly vote.

The full polling deck is attached and more information can be found here: https://www.amnesty.ie/itstimepoll/

See USI’s presentation to the Citizens’ Assembly – https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/Meetings/Union-of-Students-in-Ireland-s-Paper.pdf