A pregnant American, who feared for her life after being refused an abortion in Malta while her baby was condemned, was transferred to Spain where she is "
out of danger
", announced Friday June 24 her companion.
Read alsoAbortion: how American women's smartphones could turn against them
Andrea Prudente, 38, was on holiday on the Mediterranean island when her water broke after heavy bleeding during her 16th week of pregnancy.
The baby had no chance of surviving, but doctors refused to intervene because of Malta's total abortion ban.
"
Medical evacuation has allowed us to travel safely to Spain where Andrea is out of danger and finally receiving the medical care and treatment that was denied to her in Malta
," her partner, Jay Weeldreyer, told AFP. AFP.
"
Now that she's finally out of harm's way, there are cascades of mixed emotions coming in waves
," he said, expressing their "
sorrow
."
“Heads or tails with the life of the mother”
In a telephone interview with AFP on Wednesday, he condemned the "
insensitive
" and "
cruel
" treatment of his wife after her hospitalization.
The examinations had shown that the placenta had partially detached from the uterus and that the baby could not survive, for lack of amniotic fluid.
But doctors had refused to intervene, waiting for her to have a natural miscarriage, for the baby's heartbeat to stop or "
for her to have a life-threatening infection
" that would prompt them to act, according to Jay Weeldreyer.
For him, the doctors “
played a coin toss with the life of the mother
”.
Andrea Prudente is “
weak and exhausted, relieved and in mourning
“Said the couple’s lawyer, Lara Dimitrijevic, in a message posted on social networks.
Read alsoUnited States: the Supreme Court revokes the right to abortion, making the States free to prohibit it
The case had a strong echo in the international press and brought to light the draconian law in Malta, the only country in the European Union to completely ban abortion.
Women who have abortions risk up to three years in prison, compared to four years for the doctors who help them.
The NGO Doctors for Choice welcomed Ms Prudente's treatment, saying she had been given abortion pills, but lamented that many Maltese women did not have this option.
“
Are we really prioritizing women's lives, or are we just treating them as incubators?
We can do much better than that as a country
,” she said.
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