An American woman on holiday in Malta raises the alarm with human rights groups because the country does not allow her to have an abortion, even though her own life is at stake. The 38-year-old woman was hospitalized with serious bleeding and will most certainly lose her child. However, in Malta abortion is prohibited under all circumstances.
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Andrea Prudente (38) and her partner Jay Weeldreyer (45) have been terrified for days at the Mater Dei hospital in Malta. Prudente threatens to lose her unborn child after a four-month pregnancy. The woman was hospitalized during her vacation with serious bleeding. Doctors prescribed her a drug to save her from miscarriage, but two days later her waters ruptured and she had to go back to the hospital. There it turned out that her placenta had partially detached.
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Heartbeat
An ultrasound showed that there was no amniotic fluid left in her uterus at all and that the baby would probably not survive. In addition, they were told that they could not terminate the pregnancy themselves as long as the fetus still has a heartbeat. For the American this is not without risks, because the longer this situation lasts, the greater the chance of bleeding and infections, which in the worst case can lead to death. She also tested positive for coronavirus, which means that her health is now extra vulnerable.
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All this could have been prevented
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“With the bleeding and the baby’s umbilical cord poking through Andrea’s cervix, she is at an extremely high risk of infection. This could all have been prevented,” her friend told the BBC† “The baby won’t live, we can’t change that. We wanted her, we still want her, we love her, we wish she could live, but she won’t. And not only do we not know when we will lose our daughter, the hospital also increases the chance that Andrea will be exposed to risks.”
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get away alive
The American couple is now diligently looking for alternative options so that they can still have an abortion. “This is an unimaginable form of emotional and psychological torture,” her friend told The Guardian† “Part of me still celebrates hearing the heartbeat, but at the same time, I don’t want that heartbeat because it only leads to more suffering for the woman I love so much.”
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A medical transfer from Malta to the United Kingdom is the only option that could save the life of the American for the time being. However, according to the couple, the hospital staff would resist and even refuse to share certain medical records with her insurance company. “I just want to get out of here alive,” says Prudente from her hospital room The Guardian† “I could not have imagined such a nightmare in my wildest dreams.”
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Her lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic, founder of Malta’s Women’s Rights Foundation, says the hospital only provided the medical records after she filed a complaint. According to her, this has slowed down the transfer to the United Kingdom considerably. “It took Andrea a day to receive her file as we are dealing with an emergency situation. Any minute could put Andrea’s life in danger.”
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It took Andrea a day to receive her file as we are dealing with an emergency situation
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Abortion in Europe
Activists say the case is reminiscent of the treatment failure of Savita Halappanavar, who died in an Irish hospital in 2012 after doctors refused a request to terminate her pregnancy. At that time there was a total ban on abortion in Ireland. Today, Malta is the only country in the EU to ban abortion under all circumstances, even if the fetus has no chance of survival. Anyone who wants to terminate a pregnancy on the island has to go abroad or purchase illegal abortion medication via the black market.
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In most EU countries, abortion is allowed during the first weeks of pregnancy. In Catholic Poland, abortion options are severely limited. Ireland liberalized its abortion legislation in 2013. In the Netherlands it is allowed to terminate the pregnancy up to the 22nd week.
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The Mater Dei hospital in Malta declined to comment on the matter.
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