Fiona said:
"I had the privilege yesterday of presenting the Annual Westminster Award for Human Rights and Dignity of Life in the House of Commons to a remarkable young lady Katie Ascough"
Presenting the award Yesterday, Fiona said:
"This evening, we are here to celebrate and award the conscientiousness of a brave young woman of real integrity. Many of you may know something about Katie’s story, but I think it may be worth just recapping what Katie did, and indeed what Katie did next, and what happened to her whilst she followed the courage of her convictions.
Elected as President of University College Dublin’s Student Union in March last year on a platform to improve issues like student mental health and accommodation, Katie was attacked from the beginning of her candidacy for her pro-life views. She had held these beliefs strongly since her mother very sadly miscarried when Katie was 15 years old, and she had held the 13-week-old body of her baby brother, Laurence.
This eye-opening encounter made Katie feel compelled to protect all human life, and in 2016 she had campaigned against the renewal of her Student Union’s official position in favour of repealing the Irish Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which guarantees the right to life of unborn children. Threats to impeach Katie for her right-to-life convictions went back to her Election, but became a reality when she had a page containing information on abortion access removed from the Union’s Freshers’ magazine, ‘Winging It’, after receiving legal advice that it may have been illegal. As CEO of the Union, Katie would have been legally responsible, and potentially risked a criminal record.
Other Sabbatical officers disagreed with Katie, and a campaign for her impeachment was started. In October last year, a vote on her removal saw 6,572 out of the over 30,000 UCD students vote. Of these, 4,540 voted to impeach Katie, whilst 2,032 voted against removing her as head of the Union.
In her speech after the vote, Katie said:
“This is a sad day for me, but it is also a sad day for our university. University should a place of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of association. Fairness, respect for those who don’t wish to break the law, and respect for others with different beliefs, are critical to debate and intellectual freedom on campus.
While I am deeply saddened at the outcome of today’s vote, and that so many students would impeach me, and find me guilty of breaking the law, I hope we can build an atmosphere of fairness, of conversation and of openness, to people who might not fit the stereotypical SU President image”.
Since her impeachment, Katie has spoken in favour of the freedom to speak and to associate on campus for those with views that do not reflect the Student Union orthodoxy, such as right-to-lifers, becoming a symbol of the difficulties and determination of the student right-to-life movement. More recently, Katie has also signalled her intention to campaign in favour of Ireland retaining the Eighth Amendment, becoming involved with the Pro-Life Campaign in Ireland.
All this effort shows a woman of strength, of intelligence, of deep principle, and of wonderful witness to societies across the West that badly need to open minds and hearts to the dignity and humanity of unborn children, and for that to happen, to be open to discussion and tolerance, especially in universities. Indeed, Katie’s work also shows the kind of personality that would, perhaps one day, well serve an elected representative in the Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland, or an even higher office!
So, it gives me great pleasure, and great honour, to give this Award today to Katie Ascough, for her integrity, her courage, and her public witness in favour of a liberal and open society, and the equality and right to life of unborn children."