Will be transferred to Spain, Andrea Prudente, the American woman to whom the health authorities of Malta, a country of the EU where abortion is prohibited in all its forms, has denied terminating the pregnancy despite complications at 16 weeks of gestation has been the abruption of the placenta and the fetus no longer has a chance to develop. As long as there continues to be a heartbeat, the law prohibits Maltese doctors from intervening, except in the event of imminent danger to the woman’s life, and therefore they have been monitoring the situation for days, even if this exposes the woman to the increasing risk of serious infections .
The activists of Doctors for Choicewho have been fighting for some time to loosen the ties of a ban that forces hundreds of women to go abroad every year to interrupt unwanted pregnancies or those presenting risks of malformations for the fetus and for their own health.
Andrea Prudente had arrived a few days ago on the island with her partner Jay Weeldreyer when she started not feeling well. From the emergency room in Gozo she was transported to the Mater Dei hospital where they realized that there had been a miscarriage, and from the ultrasound the doctors saw the placental abruption. In these cases, the risk is that the infection can pass through the ruptured membranes into the mother’s uterus. And septicemia can lead to death. But the fetus still has a heartbeat, so the doctors rejected the termination of the pregnancy requested by the woman. For them the risk is a sentence of up to 4 years in prison and the revocation of the license. “The patient asked for the termination of the pregnancy, but her request was rejected. She was told that doctors can only intervene if death is imminent, even getting an infection is not enough. She was also told that doctors cannot even discuss the abortion option with her, ”the activists of Doctors for Choice write.
The international attention on the case, however, has had the desired result: in the next few hours Andrea Prudente will be transferred to Spain. Her condition still worries those around her since the journey will not be without risks given her condition. At the Bbc Andrea’s partner, before the authorization for the transfer, said: «The child cannot survive, there is nothing that can be done: we would like it so much, but it won’t be like that. And not only are we desperate because we are losing the daughter we wanted so much, but the hospital is also prolonging the risk for Andrea’s life ».
A situation that was defined as “life-threatening” by the insurance of the American couple who agreed, therefore, to cover part of the costs of the woman’s transfer by air ambulance to a hospital in Spain where she could terminate the pregnancy, reports the Malta Times citing lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic.
It is not the first time that a tourist has been evacuated from Malta in order to have an abortion, in 2017 the woman was transferred to France.