Royal state visit to US and Epstein survivors, Abortion law, Plastic waste art

This episode of Woman's Hour explores three major global stories: the UK's royal state visit to the US amid controversy over King Charles III's refusal to meet survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, a landmark moment in abortion law reform in England and Wales, and the growing political power of women voters in India. The royal visit, marked by tensions over the king's absence from a survivors' roundtable, highlights the ongoing fallout from Epstein's network and the royal family's constitutional constraints. Meanwhile, a new law decriminalising women who end their own pregnancies is set to pass, with MPs and historians emphasizing its importance for women's autonomy and historical justice. In India, women's increasing electoral participation—driven by education, economic incentives, and voter roll reforms—is reshaping political dynamics, though concerns remain about vote-buying and systemic disenfranchisement. The episode concludes with a heartening story of nurse Sammy Aplin, who transforms beach plastic waste into vibrant art, turning environmental neglect into creative activism. The programme underscores themes of justice, empowerment, and resilience across personal, political, and planetary scales.