[WATCH] Buttigieg brushes off concerns that Prudente case can happen again under new abortion amendment

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Rebecca Buttigieg has shrugged off concerns that the new version of Bill 28 will still not cover cases like that of Andrea Prudente, which kick-started the debate in the first place.

Bill 28 allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy if a woman's life is in danger, introducing an exception to Malta's otherwise blanket ban on abortion.

The Reforms Parliamentary Secretary insisted the new version of the Bill is a "game-changer" despite being labelled as "regressive" by renowned gynaecologist Mark Sant.

Buttigieg was responding to journalists’ questions after a press conference at Labour Party headquarters hours before Bill 28 is debated at committee stage in parliament. She was flanked by PL President Ramona Attard.

Bill 28 was initially tabled in parliament last November and traces its roots to the case of Andrea Prudente, an American tourist who was forced to transfer to Spain after needing an abortion while on holiday in Malta. Prudente started miscarrying and despite being told by doctors that her pregnancy was not viable was denied an abortion.

“There are two scenarios where this amendment comes into play,” Buttigieg said. “When a woman’s life is in immediate danger, the medical professional is obliged to intervene, and does not need to consult with a medical team.”

“The other scenario concerns a woman who develops a condition during the pregnancy which poses a threat to her health. Here, a number of factors come into play,” Buttigieg said, making reference to the foetus’s viability. The proposed law will specifically prevent doctors from terminating a pregnancy if current medical practice deems the foetus to be viable.

However, the new version of Bill 28 only allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy if the woman's health is in "grave jeopardy" if the condition "may lead to death". This is a more restrictive definition than what was originally proposed.

Reacting to the changes to the amendment on Friday, pro-choice NGOs described the changes as "regressive", with some even noting that the newly proposed amendment can create a situation that is "worse than the status quo."

READ ALSO: Why the new version of Bill 28 still leaves Maltese women knocking on the doors of death