On 17 June 2025 UK Parliament voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, reversing a Victorian-era law. The amendment will prevent women from being prosecuted for ending a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without approval from two doctors.
We spoke to our senior investigative reporter Sian Norris, author of Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global.
Get Bodies Under Siege by Sian Norris: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781839764738
Read Sian’s full piece on this vote: mps-vote-decriminalise-abortion-important-increasing-prosecutions-global-backlash-us
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Credits:
Presented by James Battershill
Edited and produced by James Battershill, Ayodeji Rotinwa & Carla Abreu
Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela
00:55 A huge achievement for women's reproductive rights
01:55 'Isn't abortion already legal in the UK?'
07:19 The 24 week question
09:44 Telemedicine
13:24 What does this mean on a global level?
14:51 What happens next?
17:22 On to the next fight!
