THE bloody reality of abortion was brought into British living rooms last night in a world TV first that has inflamed emotions and revived old divisions.

My Foetus, a 60-minute documentary shown at 11pm on Britain's Channel 4, shows footage of a four-week-old fetus being vacuumed from its mother's womb. The documentary also shows images of the dismembered remains of 10, 11 and 21-week fetuses, their broken limbs measured by a tape.

Filmmaker Julia Black, 34, who herself had a late-term abortion when she was 21, said she was moved to make the documentary by her own wanted pregnancy later in life.

"It's still a subject that is taboo and not discussed openly and I wanted to kick-start debate by allowing both sides of the argument to actually look at what an abortion is," she said.

"Abortion is a legal procedure in Britain and is the world's most common surgical procedure, so I thought we should look at the images and then carry on the debate."

Channel 4 said it was sensitive to concerns the program might shock, but insisted it was about educating and feeding debate on an issue that has sparked strong emotions across Europe and the US.

"The point is that abortion is an incredibly common procedure, but we don't see the images and we should have the debate with the full knowledge of what is involved," a spokeswoman said.

"We are not just broadcasting this footage gratuitously.

"A warning will be shown prior to the show and there will be a helpline after."

From 1996 to 2000, an average of 170,000 abortions were carried out each year in England and Wales, according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.

Anti-abortion activists, who have long used graphic imagery of gruesome abortion procedures as publicity tools, welcomed the film.

But they said its very title implied a pro-choice bias.

"She calls the program My Foetus and if anybody has ever heard of a pregnant woman talking about her fetus, I'd like to meet them," said Comment on Reproductive Ethics director Josephine Qunitavalle.

"There are two categories of human being: wanted and unwanted. The only difference between Julia's aborted fetus and her baby is whether they were wanted."

Ms Black, who is pro-choice, said in making the film she was forced to confront her own previously entrenched pro-choice views.

"When I interviewed a doctor about the unpleasantness of performing late abortions it was difficult to listen and not believe it was morally wrong.

"For many people there is no difference between me aborting my fetus at eight weeks and a woman aborting her fetus at 24 weeks, the legal limit for abortions in Britain.

"But for me, even after knowing the facts about abortion, there is a difference."

Journalist Lauren Booth, a pro-choicer who has also had an abortion, said she recoiled when watching the film's pivotal moment.

"My hand flew to my mouth in shock," she said.

"I swallowed. I didn't want to say it, but the word 'murder' came to my lips."

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 21, 2004

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 21, 2004.

Journalist Lauren Booth, a pro-choicer who has also had an abortion, said she recoiled when watching the film's pivotal moment.

"My hand flew to my mouth in shock," she said.

"I swallowed. I didn't want to say it, but the word 'murder' came to my lips."

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 21, 2004.