PALMA DE MALORCA, Spain – Americans Andrea Prudente and her partner Jay Weldreyer were 16 months pregnant with a baby girl. To celebrate, the couple decided to spend two weeks together in Malta.
About a week later, Prudente was rushed to the hospital, where she was told that the placenta had separated from her uterus and she was having an abortion. This meant that the pregnancy was no longer viable, and unless the pregnancy was terminated, Prudent’s life would be in grave danger. But abortion is banned in Malta – even in extreme circumstances like hers.
ABC News spoke to Weeldreyer as he sat next to his partner’s bed in a hospital in Malta.
“There were no options. Malta will do nothing. The laws are so restrictive,” Weldreyer said.
The couple cannot fly back to America because a long flight would be too dangerous in Prudent’s condition and the risk of her having a miscarriage during the flight is potentially fatal.
“We are literally trapped … and in the meantime, every day that passes, every minute that passes, it is at increasing risk of infection,” he said.
Lara Dimitrievich, Prudente’s lawyer and founder of the Women’s Rights Foundation in Malta, confirmed that there is no hope for the couple in Malta.
“The mentality has never been challenged in Malta. It is a small island, completely cut off from the rest of the world. If a doctor actually practices abortion illegally, he will simply be sentenced to prison,” Dimitrievich told ABC News.
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Malta is the only country in Europe that bans abortion for any reason, even in the case of rape.
“I started this foundation in 2013 because I hoped to help women. I am for life, but I am for choice, “said Lara Dimitrievich. “How can we justify in 2022 that a woman can be exposed to this kind of danger … The Maltese have complete control over the female body,” Dimitrievic added.
Dimitrievich tried to contact Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abella and his deputy minister for help with Prudente. They never reacted, she said.
Weldreyer was visibly insane as he told ABC News about his partner.
“This baby can’t live. And the fact that Andrea is forced to suffer as a result is barbaric. Like, … it’s unforgivable. It was a long, long torture. She survived the squeeze, “he said.
“We’re not interested in being activists, but after going through this experience, it’s one of those things where there’s really something right in some circumstances that there’s really no debate about it. And I guess it’s really a bit forged. For me, it’s important to either change the definitions, or it’s a medical continuation of a miscarriage, or to ensure that there are cuts, at least to protect women’s lives, “he said. Weldreyer.
After days of talking to his midwife in America, and a few whispers from hospital staff in Malta, Weeldreyer and Prudente were able to work with their insurance company to arrange an emergency flight with a doctor to a nearby country where Prudente would be able to receive life-saving surgery. .
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“If it weren’t for the insurance company, we would have stayed on this island and Andrea would have had no alternatives. “It’s a horrible reality,” he said.
But the flight remains dangerous. “Oh, I’m worried. I’m worried … I’m in a moment where I’m overwhelmed with emotion because it’s mixed, you know? And in a way it’s a relief, and in a sense it’s a horror. And I’m angry. and very disappointed, “Weldreyer said.
Weldreyer says he knows their situation is not an isolated event.
“I hope that [our story] it eventually becomes a clarifying element to resolve at least part of the dispute. I know this is not clear to many people. “People have strong feelings about the concept of abortion and I know there are no answers, but I think people need to watch and really question their beliefs,” he said.
“And what has occurred to us since then is also to imagine what it’s like to think about getting pregnant if you happen to be a woman in Malta. Given the common occurrence of miscarriage and the frequent need for medical intervention, and you will be denied me even to the point that you may die, this is appalling. “
Weeldreyer and Prudente must take a flight to Mallorca and hope that Prudente will be able to have a life-saving medical procedure in the next 24 hours.
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