Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines. Mps are calling for an inquiry into leaked emails from the British Ambassador to washington describing president Trumps Administration as inept, insecure and incompetent. Iran says it has breached yet another condition of its 2015 International Nuclear agreement. Protesters in hong kong have held another big demonstration against chinas increasing control over the territory, the Jodrell Bank Observatory in cheshire which has been at the forefront of Astronomical Research has been declared a unesco World Heritage site. Now on bbc news the best of the weeks exclusive interviews and reports from the Victoria Derbyshire programme. Hello, welcome to our programme. Over the next half hour, we will show you some of the discussion we had this week on abortion. Its because we revealed that a poll conducted for our programme suggested that the British Public are becoming more supportive of abortion rights. According to the yougov poll of more than 1500 adults in great britain, 53 of people want to either keep the legal limit for a termination at 2a weeks into a pregnancy or even raise that limit. That change in attitude begs the question of whether abortion laws in this country are ever likely to change, and what might be behind the rise in the number of women seeking them . You may find some of the issues you are about to hear distressing. First, heres a summary of the current law on abortion. According to the nhs, an abortion is the medical process of ending a pregnancy so it doesnt result in the birth of a baby. 59 of the worlds women have access to abortion laws defined roughly as liberal. But abortion is illegalfor 5 of women in the world. That is 90 million people. In england and wales last year there were more than 200,000 abortions the highest number ever recorded. Abortion is legal within the first 2a weeks of pregnancy in england, wales and scotland, so long as two doctors believe the baby would worsen the womans physical or mental health. The 2a week limit broadly represents the point at which a foetus is said to become viable, or able to survive outside the uterus. It is possible to have an abortion after 2a weeks, if the doctors agree there is a serious threat to the womans life or risk of a serious foetal anomaly. In Northern Ireland, abortion is illegal unless there is a serious risk to the mothers health. Lets discuss this with our guests. Ashling hubert is an anti abortion campaigner. Naomi connor travelled from Northern Ireland to england for an abortion five years ago. Dr calum miller is a junior surgical doctor and is anti abortion. Claudia craig successfully campaigned for legal home use of Abortion Pills after her traumatic experience. Laura mann had an abortion but says she regrets it. Independent mp heidi allen talked about her abortion experience in the house of commons, Ajmal Masroor is an imam who wants the limit reduced to 17 weeks. Dr Caroline Gazet is an abortion surgeon. Caroline, first of all, why do you think attitudes are liberalising in this country . I think we realise that a woman has a right to choose what to do with her body, and we need to trust that women know what they want to do with their body, their body and their lives. As we go forward in the 21st century, this is the right attitude. It is not a universal attitude, we look to what is happening in the United States and attitudes are reversing there, the law is reversing there. I think this is fundamentally wrong, i think we need to trust women, it is chilling that in america they are reducing it and making it very restrictive. We do not want to go down that route in england, we have an elected parliament and a law that is safe and we should not be reducing the limit at all. Let talk more about statistics, in our poll, 30 of those we spoke to want the limit reduced. Lets talk about how you all see it. The appetite for going beyond 2a weeks, first of all, does anyone have an appetite to see abortion available beyond 2a weeks . No. When it comes to abortions over 24 weeks, i think that is a decision for a woman and a medical professional she is dealing with, and i think what is termed late term abortions are very rare in the first instance, but those decisions should always be taken between a woman and a medical professional. I dont think abortions over 24 weeks there is an automatic moral judgment that comes with that, at the end of the day it should be for a woman to decide. I think we have to remember that in england, over 90 of abortions are before 13 weeks and of those, 80 before ten weeks. We are talking about a very small minority of women who might be very vulnerable, needing this abortion, to take that away would be fundamentally wrong. You want it reduced to 17 weeks . The concept of abortion in islam, from our perspective, is allowed all the way if the mothers life is at risk, under all circumstances. There is no week limits, that is the islamic philosophy from our ethics, therefore there is an argument if the mothers life is at risk, abortion can take place at any stage. However, designer or whimsical abortion or social reasons for abortion is very strictly guarded within islam. We say abortion should not take place under any circumstances, but it should not be beyond 17 weeks because of the concept of soul, but the unfortunate situation is that in the secular world where we live, soul is not even an entity discussed, but we believe in it. That phrase designer or whimsical abortion, what you mean . Lots of social reasons could be given for abortions. A person does not want that baby, or for small medical reasons, not that their life is at risk. Cleft anomalies. My son was born with a genetic condition and we could have had an abortion for him. We knew when my wife was pregnant. We chose not to. If we ever have another baby we have the risk of having the same. As far as we are concerned, we would like to preserve life and that is our role, taking one life, according to my faith, its like taking the lives of all humanity. A foetus is a life, so we have to be very careful not to deny that foetus its human rights, its spiritual right and its right to be. In islam, and my ethics, says if i am doing it whimsically and not for a medical reason that can be substantiated, i should stay away from abortion. Does anybody want to respond . We had to be very careful about language like whimsical, for me, that is anti women. I was an abortion seeker a number of years ago and i have met women and pregnant people who have travelled for abortions, none of them are whimsical, they have not taken the decision lightly. I came from Northern Ireland, where there is an almost blanket ban on abortion, as was explained in the piece. I was forced to travel. I needed an abortion, i didnt want one, i wasnt whimsical about that. I needed to have an abortion for what you describe as social reasons, because it was not right for me at that point in my life. I was forced to get on an aeroplane, do it without the support of my doctor and the people who know me best, i was forced to pay for it and it was a very difficult experience and nothing about it was done. I didnt wake up one day and decide, oh, i want an abortion. It was done in terms of what was right for my life, my family and my future and it was not easy. 20 women a week are travelling from Northern Ireland to access Abortion Services and care in england. None of those women find that easy to do, i would imagine. I respect your view. I want to bring in heidi allen, i know you feel very strongly about this as an mp. Abortion legal in ireland and not Northern Ireland, part of the uk. It is completely disproportionate and stands out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the legislation. There have been a number of recent court cases, a couple still ongoing, one woman is an absolute champion for the women of Northern Ireland, in her first case the court found that the situation. The law in ireland. Northern ireland was in breach of human rights and one of the judges described it as an untenable position. We have another young woman at the moment, 15, in an abusive relationship, her mother faces charges because she bought Abortion Pills for her child. It is out of step. It cannot be right. We call ourselves the united kingdom, it cannot be right to have such an anomaly in Northern Ireland. 65 of people in Northern Ireland are ready to decriminalise, it is time for change. Stormont is suspended, nothing will change unless politicians here do something. Dare i say, the British Government keep hiding behind this, it is devolved, we cannot touch it. There has been no executive since january 2017, in the absence of that government has to act. There are a majority of cabinet ministers within the government who support this. In a moment we will watch our film with samantha, we have not heard from you, ashling, you Campaign Activity against abortion, you have been outside abortion clinics, what is your perspective . So many women have come to us and we show images of abortion, and when they see the literal decapitated and dismembered bodies of human beings being given no human rights, no right to life, when women see these they say, my gosh, it has ribs, it has hands, the doctors never told me. People know it is a baby before they get it. At three weeks, a heartbeat, brain waves, then your unique fingerprints. Even a poll in 2018, and two thirds of women in Northern Ireland do not want to see abortion imposed on them by westminster. It is taking the decision out of the hands of irish people, not doing what they want. Calum, you are a medic, you are against abortion. That graphic image of what happens to a baby in abortion is very shocking, what is your view . I would have to agree with ashling, often the medical profession hide behind euphemistic terminology, people know it is a baby, often it is described as a pregnancy, pregnancy tissue, a project of conception. The second trimester abortion, between 12 and 2a weeks, surgical abortions happen by dismembering the baby and crushing its skull. That is not true. As an abortion doctor myself, up to 14 weeks, and we had to remember, lets go back to this. What is not true . Up to 1a weeks is done by a vacuum. Lets be accurate. 1a to 2a weeks, it is done by dismemberment. 90 happen before 13 weeks . And 80 before ten weeks. This is unnecessary. I had an abortion and it is like a really bad period. It was about nine or so weeks. It is like a really bad period, there is no dismembered baby sitting in the toilet, none of that, it is like a really, really heavy period. That is obviously the majority, but for some who have abortion beyond 1a weeks. 10 are after 13 weeks, 10 of 200,000 is 20,000. All talk at once it is not pleasant to talk about it but they are making the point that it is not pleasant, what happens at that stage, so go back to what you were saying. After 1a weeks, it is done by dismemberment and there are many, many thousands of babies who have had their lives ended in this way. After 2a weeks, it is legal up to birth for things like downs syndrome, even twins. When people find out the reality of the abortion law, the english abortion law sticks out like a sore thumb. In the rest of europe they have radically lower abortion limits, many do not allow abortion for things like downs syndrome, cleft palate or because there are twins. When we inform people of the fact on abortion, most people i speak to have no idea what it involves and they are horrified to find out what our law says. Laura, you had an abortion at 21 weeks . I was 12 weeks when i found out i was pregnant, i had the abortion at 21 weeks. In hindsight, i know that i was not well informed in making that decision at the time. When i came out of marie stopes clinic in brixton, the first thing that went through my mind was, where is my baby, what has happened to the body of my baby . I kept asking myself that question. The nurses that escorted me to the recovery room, because i was in so much pain and i was sobbing, the nurse said to me, you silly girl, dont you know what you have done . That put a shock wave through my system and made me so depressed that i questioned, months after months, nightmares, cold sweats, what happened to this babys body . I was 19 at the time. You said you didnt feel well informed, you had gone from discovering you were pregnant at 12 weeks to having an abortion at 21 weeks, as part of the process you need the permission of two doctors to perform the surgery. How could you not have been informed . How did the process work . Im not saying it is your fault, i am saying there is a process and you would assume it was a process through which somebody be informed . In my ignorance at that age, i remember seeing one gp at Kings College hospital, my partner at the time, when i went into the room to discuss that i am pregnant, the first option i was given was abortion. We stepped out of the room, spoke for five minutes, went back in and i was so afraid, so confused, had no clue what to do, all the voices around me at the time were telling me i could not do it, i could not do it. I felt so much pressure. I felt 0k within myself going for the abortion, but when i left the clinic it was the beginning of my nightmare. Caroline, how do you respond to that . I am very sorry you have had this regret, but 95 of women do not regret abortion. But the point of going through something where she looks back endlessly, so long later, thinking i was not properly informed . The system is supposed to be that people are properly informed and get full advice and it did not happen here. Obviously i cant answer for that because i was not in the consultation with you. I am sorry you feel you were not properly involved. At marie stopes we take it very seriously, informing our patients, but you also do not want to frighten them. The important thing is we offer counselling, give people lots of time to think, you are very welcome to come back to counselling now, it is an open ended offer from marie stopes for all clients. We have a 24 hour helpline for women to ring so i am sad you have had this experience. I am completely healed in my process after many years of struggling and to come to terms with the abortion i went through. Facing the images one day outside of the department of health was like, wow, my goodness, this is what happened to my baby. That was the sudden realisation and another step towards the healing process. Yeah, so. Ijust feel why are we not properly informed . If i went for an operation i would get the full download, why is it with abortion that it is so secret . Why dont you let us know what we are going for and what will happen to our babies . It is not a matter of scaring people, it is informing people so i can make a proper informed decision. I just want to pause at the moment. I was 19, it was about 19 years ago. I have come across many of women even today that tell me the same thing, they are dying in secret. Because i share my story openly, i am healed, i am graciously healed, they feel empowered to speak to me and say what they went through, i experienced the same as you want felt i could not speak to anybody and what can you do to help me . All talk at once heidi, i assume you are asking how long ago it was because you are wondering if things have changed . Contrasting to my own experience a few years ago. It was not as late as you and, god, you are brave. Amazing. It was not as late as that but i remember. Was it beyond 1a weeks . I am struggling to remember, i think it was around 1a weeks, not beyond that. I was having physical seizures everyday, i could not control my body, medically it was really, really difficult. But i can still remember the conversations with the nurses and doctors in the clinic with the gp, i was at Kings College as well, funnily enough. At every step of the way, are you sure . These are the risks. I had the most incredible care. I would be interested, because you are right, we had to make sure the handholding and the gentle knowledge, not hiding you from the facts but making sure you are informed, that is what was sadly lacking, by the sounds of things. There are always errors made in life but i would struggle to take your desperately poor experience so many years ago as a reason to change the law completely. Were you told exactly what an abortion after 1a weeks would entail . Yes, and when you go to hospital as opposed to a clinic for tablets, it is because the process is more involved. We will hear from samantha. She we will hearfrom samantha. She is 26 and had several abortions within a matter of months. There were financial considerations and sheer schedule never have enough money now to bring up a child. You might find her account discussing. Distressing. It was a relatively easy decision because i knew that i wouldnt be able to have a child. My partner was unemployed for a little while as well. So i was supporting both of us. I was paying both of our rent, both of our bills. And i was very financially stretched. So i was using all my savings as well. I had no money month to month spare. I knew that there was no way that i could have a child then. There was no way that i would be able to afford it. She decided to have a surgical abortion, which means going into a clinic to have an operation under anaesthetic to remove the embryo. If you have a medical abortion, you lose it at home by yourself. And if you have a surgical, then you leave the clinic without the pregnancy. And i really. I wanted my hand held through a lot of it, i think. And what about the sort of emotional toll it took on you . I dont think i was prepared for that emotional toll. Ifelt like i could go back to work immediately and it would be fine. But i think i ended up taking about a week off afterwards. I think immediately i felt really relieved. But its still, kind of those hormones are leaving your body, its very stressful. I was still very teary. But i didnt ever feel any regret. She says being totally open about having an abortion really helped her get through it. She told friends on social media and was overwhelmed by their support. You dont realise that all these women around you that have actually had it. So a lot of people that i kind of had relationships and friendships with already, providing that support and providing that information was really, really helpful. And there was a lot of women who maybe couldnt be open about it for cultural reasons, or religious reasons as well. And they hid it from everyone. Sam had tried lots of different types of contraception, she started having side effects, so she tracked her cycle on an app. You ended up having another abortion . Yes. I got pregnant again and that time id actually taken the morning after pill as well, because i knew it was too close to the fertile window. But it didnt work. I felt really stupid. I felt really stupid and really ashamed because id had one so recently, i didnt feel like i could be as open and honest about it because. I felt like i would bejudged. I was still in the same kind of situation as before, where i didnt have a stable income, stable job, stable home. The second time i was less certain because i felt like i didnt i didnt want to have two abortions in my life. This time she chose to have a medical abortion at home, and took pills instead of having an operation. But days later, when she was at work, she was horrified when she found an embryo in her menstrual cup. I wasnt prepared. I thought it would be more like a heavy clot, or like, uterus lining. And its not. And yeah, i wasnt prepared for that. What is it like . Erm. For me it was like a kidney bean shape, like a lump of flesh. So, its kind of. I think, its really clear that that could eventually be a foetus. Seeing the embryo made me really feel like that was a pregnancy, that i could have had a child. And how many of your friends that also had abortions . Quite a number of them actually. Ithink. Possibly about 17 to 20 people. Considering that my kind of generation, millennials, are really struggling to even get on the housing ladder, to afford another child in a home thats not your own, and thats something that i really want to have in place before i have children, im definitely not going to be able to afford a home within the time frame that id like to have kids. It is something that i think would cause me quite a lot of anxiety if i were to get pregnant again. Shes worried she wont ever be financially able to have a baby. So its just not affordable for you to have a child . Not at the moment. And i dont know when it will be. Raise your hands, does anybody want to see the law changed . Do you think it will change . We will ask the politician for the one on this, is it likely to . I think it is. In what way . I think Northern Ireland will go through the same process and be equalised. Ifjeremy hunt becomes the Prime Minister . It is regardless of who the Prime Minister is, the swell has to come from the backbenches and it is there already. If you would like help and advice there is more on the bbc action line. That is it for this week. You can watch more online. We are back on monday morning. Bye bye. Hello, most of us have been enjoying a fine sunday. There are weather changes on the way, in the week ahead. That might be good news if you want a bit of rain on the garden. There will be some rain at times this week. High pressure in control, but there are weather fronts gathering in the atlantic. This area of High Pressure is going to be squeezed away southwards along with the settled weather. Lets look at the satellite picture. You can see a lot of land showing up. Not a huge amount of cloud out there. An area of cloud towards the far south east did produce and outbreaks of rain as we started sunday, but it has been brightening up for many through the afternoon. One or two ago showers around. Any of those are fading as we go into the evening. Largely clear skies. Temperatures are not going to dip away overnight. Quite widely in the countryside in single figures, close to freezing in northern and eastern scotland, where there might be a brief touch of frost as we are going to monday morning. The cloud increasing to the west. We talked about atlantic weather systems coming our way. For Northern Ireland, cloud moving in. Some outbreaks of rain. Cloud increasing elsewhere to the west, and might produce and drizzle, especially on coasts and hills later in the day. For the south and east, isolated showers. For most it is going to be a dry monday and temperatures in the high teens or low 20s. Pretty much where they are going to stay for much of the weekend stop that is fairly close to average. As for wimbledon, well, it is going to be pleasant temperatures for playing tennis as we start the week. Just into the low 20s. It might geta week. Just into the low 20s. It might get a little bit warmer as we go through the week, but not by much. Its looking mainly dry without breaks of cloud and a few sunny spells to be had. Remember the area of High Pressure being squeezed to the south . That is the situation on tuesday. This weather front is taking summer outbreak suffering from Northern Ireland, across scotland, part of Northern Ireland, north wales, towards lincolnshire, norfolk. South of that, High Pressure clinging on. More cloud around. Some sunny spells to be had, temperatures in the low 20s, whereas we are in the mid teens in northern scotla nd we are in the mid teens in northern scotland without breaks of rain. Still some outbreaks of rain on wednesday, thursday and friday. It is looking like showers, but some of those could be heavy and thundery. A range of temperatures across the uk. The mid teens were northern scotland, mid teens for some in northern england. Decidedly mixed. There will be some occasional pleasa nt there will be some occasional pleasant sunshine. Some opportunities for getting wet. Temperatures fairly close to average for this stage ofjuly. This is bbc news. The headlines at four mps callforan inquiry into leaked emails from the British Ambassador to washington describing president Trumps Administration as inept, insecure and incompetent. Iran says it has breached another condition of its 2015 International Nuclear agreement. The usa are playing the netherlands in the womens World Cup Final in france the americans are aiming to win the trophy for a fourth time. Skirmishes have broken out between demonstrators and police in hong kong, after another large scale protest against chinas increasing control over the territory, the Jodrell Bank Observatory in cheshire which has been at the forefront of Astronomical Research