Andrea and Jay never expected to be in this position: praying for their infant daughter’s heart to quit beating before Andrea contracts a fatal virus.
The American couple was on vacation in Malta when Andrea Prudente, who is 16 weeks pregnant, began leaking blood. Doctors informed her that her pregnancy was no longer viable because her placenta had partially detached.
However, the baby’s heart was still beating; in Malta, this implies that doctors are prohibited by law from terminating the pregnancy.
The pair has been waiting in a hospital room for the past week.
“We believe that if she goes into labor, the hospital will become involved. If the infant’s heart stops beating, they will assist. Jay Weeldreyer informs me over the phone, “other than that, they will do nothing.”
His voice is weary and agitated. He fears Andrea’s condition could rapidly deteriorate at any moment.
“Because of the bleeding, the separation of the placenta from the uterus, the entirely ruptured membrane, and the baby’s umbilical cord protruding through Andrea’s cervix, she faces a very significant risk of infection, which could have been avoided,” he says.
“The infant cannot survive, and nothing can be done to change it. We desired her, we continue to desire her, we love her, and we hope she could survive, but she will perish. “Not only are we losing a daughter we desired, but the hospital is also prolonging Andrea’s exposure to danger,” he continues.
Their only hope is a medical evacuation to the United Kingdom, which is covered by their travel insurance.
In 2017, a second tourist had to be airlifted to France for a medical emergency. However, Maltese women do not have this option.
“Women rarely speak out here,”
The island has some of the harshest abortion laws in Europe: termination of pregnancy is strictly prohibited, even when the fetus has no chance of survival.
Dr. Lara Dimitrijevic, a Maltese attorney and chair of the Women’s Rights Foundation, has fought against this law for years.
“Women rarely speak out here,” she informs me.
In general, doctors either let the body remove the fetus on its own or if the patient becomes extremely ill and develops sepsis, they intervene to save the mother’s life.
“On average, two or three cases like this occur each year, but when Andrea shared her story publicly on social media, we began to see many more women coming forward and sharing their experience.”
Ms. Dimitrijevic asserts that the law must be altered because this practice poses not only a health risk to women but also a psychological trauma to their families.
Jay tells me that he and his wife are fatigued after six days of waiting for one of two dreadful things to occur.
This treatment could have been completed in two hours without endangering Andrea, enabling us to grieve,” he argues.
“Instead, it’s this drawn-out affair that leaves you with gloomy thoughts, wondering how this could ever finish.”
