Bacik, of the Alliance for Choice, has described as "pathetic" the printing of an article which attributed a number of false quotes to her.

The article claimed that Bacik, who is the Reid Professor of Criminal Law in Trinity College, is now strongly opposed to abortion, and attributed several strongly-worded statements to her.

The newsletter was distributed throughout University College Dublin last week and was a 'mock-up' of the University Observer, using the same fonts and layout as the award-winning student newspaper. The University Observer, which was also the subject of derogatory comments in the newsletter, has strongly denied any links to the publication. The students' union, which partly funds the newspaper, is considering taking legal action over the newsletter.

Bacik said that it was "pathetic that people would stoop to fraud and misrepresentation" by publishing false quotes. The newsletter, which focused exclusively on promoting pro-life viewpoints, was misleading and potentially extremely damaging for a number of named organisations, she said.

"It is clearly a fraudulent publication but there are a number of serious legal issues for several named organisations, including the newspaper which the newsletter is based on, " she said. "Whoever is behind this should be held accountable."

The newsletter contains a number of false reports, including one which claims to be a retraction of an article previously published in the University Observer. The article had dealt with pro-life group Youth Defence and the controversy surrounding an abortion debate at UCD last year.

However, Youth Defence this weekend denied all knowledge of the newsletter.

Youth Defence chairman Eoghan de Faoite said that there was "no connection" between the pro-life organisation and the newsletter. He added that he "would not agree or disagree" with the contents of the newsletter, and viewed it as a humorous publication. While the organisation has a presence in UCD, the newsletter was not linked in any way to Youth Defence, he said.

The newsletter appeared in UCD last Monday evening and was readily available at several locations throughout the campus. Bundles of newsletters were left at the spots where college newspapers, including the University Observer, are usually placed.

The University Observer is the current national Student Newspaper of the Year.

Under UCD regulations, only publications linked to official societies or groups affiliated to UCD are permitted to be distributed on campus, and so security personnel were instructed to remove the newsletters. However, having been removed from campus, the newsletters were subsequently distributed outside the university.