Andrea Prudente: ‘Malta draws you in, only to place you in a position of near death and peril’

Andrea Prudente is relieved that she is out of hospital after terminating an unviable pregnancy in Spain and can now grieve the loss of her daughter.

The American woman’s case laid bare Malta’s strict anti-abortion law that prevented doctors from ending her pregnancy despite the risk of developing sepsis.

“No more tubes and needles; now what's left is an intense feeling of relief,” Andrea told MaltaToday from the hotel in Spain where is awaiting arrangements to get back to the US. 

She was discharged from a Spanish hospital after receiving the necessary treatment to medically terminate an unviable pregnancy.

“We are now left to face and process the grieving of the daughter we lost,” she says of the 16-week old foetus that had no hope of survival after her waters broke while on holiday in Malta.

Andrea and Jay enjoying a boat trip in Malta. The holiday turned into an ordeal after Andrea's waters broke and doctors refused to terminate an unviable pregnancy

Doctors at Mater Dei Hospital would not terminate the pregnancy because the foetus still had a heartbeat despite the woman losing all amniotic fluid and having a detached placenta. Malta’s complete ban on abortion prevented doctors from carrying out an abortion and avoid serious, life-threatening complications for the mother.

Andrea’s case brought Malta’s strict anti-abortion law to world attention as the story of this American citizen and her partner made the rounds.

I speak to Andrea by video chat and her smile reflects the sense of relief that her life is no longer on the line. She speaks of the conflicting messages she received in Malta: the warmth and kindness of the people contrasted with the cold uncompromising anti-abortion law that put her at risk.

Her partner Jay Weeldreyer thinks of Malta as “the Siren of the Mediterranean”.  “It draws you in, only to place you in a position of near death and peril,” he tells me.

Andrea comments on the immense beauty of Malta but cautions women who are considering taking a holiday on the island. “Don’t go there if you’re a woman. If the country is not safe for a pregnant woman, then the country is just not safe.”

Andrea recovering in a Spanish hospital where she had the life-saving abortion

Jay echoes her thoughts, expressing deep anger and hurt over the ordeal his partner had to pass through because doctors refused to terminate the pregnancy.

“Why would any woman risk being there? Malta attacked my family, and now I must protect them,” Jay says, adding the couple wish to sue the Maltese state to the fullest extent.

The couple were swept up in a whirlwind of media coverage which comes at a pivotal moment in history as the landmark abortion judgment Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

“We find ourselves in a position that can help change the lives of women. Our suffering won’t be in vain; there's a bigger meaning to it. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through,” Andrea says.

Jay also challenges Maltese men on the matter. “How can any man in Malta remain silent and allow this law to remain?”

The global media coverage of Andrea’s case was bittersweet. It was necessary for them to get their story out there to bring about change and seek the necessary treatment but it also gave anti-choice campaigners in Malta the chance to seek Andrea on Facebook and try to persuade her through private messages not receive the life-saving medical treatment, using religion as their weapon of choice.

Before ending the conversation, Jay reflects on the silence of Maltese politicians and asks Malta’s prime minister for an explanation as to why his wife’s life had to be put at risk.

“Explain to me, why is it okay to put the life of Andrea at risk for the lost life of my daughter?”

He is unlikely to receive a reply. Malta’s political class, apart from Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar and MEP Cyrus Engerer, has remained silent on the case. Abortion remains a political taboo even if women’s lives can be put at risk because of the draconian law.

READ ALSO: 135 doctors sign judicial protest to strike down abortion ban