Hello, I'm Susan Hume and this is the Yesterday in Parliament podcast.

On Tuesday, the 17th of June, MPs backed a significant change to abortion law in England and Wales

and voted to stop women being prosecuted for ending their pregnancy.

In debates on abortion, talks of laws and statutes come up hard against raw human experience.

Laura, a young mother and university student, was criminalised for an abortion, forced on her by an abusive partner.

Labour's Tonya Antoniazzi.

He coerced her into taking abortion pills for illegally online rather than going to a doctor.

Laura describes his violent reaction to her pregnancy. He grabbed hold of me, pushed me against a wall and was just screaming in my face, pulling my hair and banging my head off the wall.

Laura nearly died from blood loss as a result of the illicit medication he had coerced her

into taking. When she was arrested, her partner threatened to kill her if she told anyone

of his involvement. But she said it was Laura who served two years in prison. Her partner was

never investigated by police. Currently, abortions legal up to 24 weeks with the approval of two

doctors. A later abortion is only possible if the women's health or life is at risk, and women

can be prosecuted if they've been found to terminate a pregnancy outside of those rules.

Tanya Antonyatsi wanted to lift the threat of prosecution from women in England and Wales,

though it would still apply to others such as medical professionals.

But Jim Alistair from traditional Ulster voice interrupted her.

Is there any other area of law governing the taking of life

where the guardrails of the criminal law have been removed

and yet that is what is proposed here

when it comes to the voiceless child.

So no thought of protection for them.

...