Pregnant American woman in life-threatening condition because of Malta legislation - "She is terrified"
Created: 2022-06-23Updated: 2022-06-23, 12:31 p.m
By: Patrick Freiwah
Pregnant woman in a medical facility (icon image).
© Alexander Ryumin/Imago
A woman is denied an abortion in Malta and her life is at stake.
There is no longer any hope for their offspring.
Malta - After serious complications during her pregnancy, a tourist from the USA has to fear for her life in Malta.
Due to the abortion ban on the small Mediterranean group of islands, Andrea Prudente and her partner Jay Weeldreyer have found themselves in a grueling and life-threatening dilemma.
The couple was on holiday in Malta when the pregnant woman had to be hospitalized with heavy bleeding in the 16th week of pregnancy, according to the
AFP
news agency .
In the clinic, it was determined that the placenta of the expectant mother was partially detaching from the uterus, and shortly thereafter the amniotic sac had burst.
Subsequent ultrasound examinations revealed "that the baby will not survive," Weeldreyer explains.
Malta: Abortion law puts pregnant tourist in mortal danger
A heavy blow for the overseas couple who were looking forward to a baby daughter.
But now the 38-year-old Prudente is also in mortal danger: Because the baby's heart is still beating, the doctors have not been allowed to perform an abortion according to the law.
"They are waiting for the heartbeat to stop, for Andrea to have a miscarriage or get a life-threatening infection," explains the 45-year-old.
Only then are the conditions in place for the doctors to intervene.
There are now fears that his partner will not survive this difficult time due to sepsis: "The doctors are playing with their lives.
She's terrified.” Catholic Malta is the only EU country to outright ban abortion — even if the fetus has no chance of surviving.
However, there is also a bitter discussion about abortion rights in America:
Abortion laws in Malta: activists feel reminded of 2012
There is one way the US couple can escape their personal nightmare: emergency medical evacuation to a country with more liberal abortion laws, such as the UK.
So far, however, that has not worked either: On the one hand, the Maltese authorities would take their time in sending documents.
In addition, nobody is willing to transport the woman because of the possible complications.
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Activists rail against the strict abortion laws, also feel reminded of a case from 2012.
This had a tragic end: the mother-to-be Savita Halappanavar died in an Irish hospital due to sepsis.
As explained by the organization "Doctors for Choice", the fetus has "no chance of survival", doctor Natalie Psaila described the situation to AFP
as "very dangerous".
In Slovakia, meanwhile, there was a serious surgical error: the wrong eye was removed from a patient.
(PF with dpa)
