How an American on holiday survived after Malta denied her a life-saving abortion
An American woman on holiday in Malta denied a life-saving abortion while an injury could take treatment in Spain, the same day Roe v Wade overturned in the United States.
Andrea Prudente, 30, and Jay Weeldreyer, 45, planned to leave their babymoon in Malta with many pictures and cherished memories. Instead, they left on an emergency flight to Spain. Malta has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world – something the couple did not know before booking their holiday.
“A doctor who was supervising my treatment in Malta told me that my baby was going to die,” said Prudente while he was recovering in Mallorca, Spain. “He said that I was at risk of infection and haemorrhage, but due to the abortion laws in Malta he could not do anything for me.”
After a perfectly healthy pregnancy, Prudente woke up in a pool of blood at 16 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors told Prudente she was suffering – her placenta had partially ruptured and amniotic fluid was leaking.
Malta is one of the few countries in the European Union to ban abortion. Because doctors could still detect a fetal heartbeat, it was illegal to end Prudente’s unviable pregnancy.
“I was in the bathroom and I heard the doctor tell Jay that if I were his patient, and we were in London where he also practiced, he would see what he saw on the ultrasound and immediately give me medication to start the process. of termination. pregnancy, ”explained Prudente. “But this is Malta.”
Mater Dei Hospital, where Prudente was treated, and the Maltese government did not immediately respond to a request for comments from ILLUM.
Dr Isabel Stabile, a gynecologist and member of Doctors for Choice who practices in Malta, reviewed Prudente’s medical notes and confirmed that her water had broken down and that almost no amniotic fluid was left. There is no way her baby could have survived.
Prudente and her partner decided that the safest option was to fly to neighboring Spain, where she could get an abortion to help her body evacuate the pregnancy safely.
‘I was on a stretcher on the plane, I focus on staying calm’
Prudente left the hospital in Malta in an ambulance that drove straight to the airport. There was a significant danger of bleeding during the two-hour flight.
“I was on a stretcher in the plane, I focus on staying calm and cool and not having my body do anything awesome,” he explained. “We understand that there is a serious risk of bleeding during the flight. So yes, it was really awesome. ”
The couple and the accompanying medical team landed safely in Mallorca, Spain, where Prudente was immediately transported to a nearby hospital where she says she was welcomed with open arms.
Prudente and her partner were then presented with two options: Prudente could take a pill to stop the fetal heartbeat, then additional oral medication to induce labor and help her body deliver the remnants of her daughter, or doctors can do dilation and curettage (D&C) surgery. Both options are forms of abortion care.
Prudente went with the first choice. “That night he gave me that first pill, which was heartbreaking and hard to take emotionally,” she said. “The pills started later and I worked for eight hours, and I get there early on Saturday morning.”
Prudente said she did not feel that the treatment she received was “taboo” or something she was ashamed of. Instead, she said medical staff treated her with compassion. She decided to see and keep her daughter after giving birth (a 16-week-old fetus is the size of an avocado).
“We cut this tiny box with blankets to choose from, and tiny ceramic stars to write her name on – one hung on the tree of life in the hospital, and one goes home with us,” Prudente explained. . . “We made arrangements for what we wanted to happen in terms of burial or cremation.
“It was really tough, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, a beautiful, cathartic experience,” she added. “We were just holding it and crying.”
It was only days after Prudente realized she had her abortion that day that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and returned abortion rights back to the states.
Prudente and Weeldreyer live in Washington, a state that protects access to abortion care.
As the couple continues to rest in Mallorca before flying home, Prudente and her partner say they continue to think about how laws like the impact of Malta are not just people seeking abortion services, but people who want to be pregnant and experience pregnancy complications like Prudente’s. survived.
“I think some anti-abortion people may have never considered such cases,” Prudente said. “Like, sometimes your ideology crashes into a wall of reality.”