Prudente came to Malta in early June for a “babymoon”, according to the UK Independent. She arrived healthy and pregnant but on 12th June, she began bleeding heavily and was prescribed a drug meant to prevent a miscarriage.

However, two days later, her water broke and she was admitted to St Thomas Hospital where her doctors noticed that the baby’s placenta was partially detached from Prudente’s uterus.

A couple of days later, an ultrasound revealed that there was no amniotic fluid in the womb, meaning that at 16-weeks-old, the foetus would not survive. They had already named her Claire.

This was not enough to warrant an abortion in Malta. Instead, Prudente was transferred to Mater Dei Hospital and for several days, the future of her health and safety morphed into a web of uncertainty.

The hospital then provided Prudente with a bereavement counsellor who put the couple in touch Doctors for Choice, a local pro-choice group known for helping people in Malta receive early term abortions.

She then met her lawyer, Lara Dimitrijevic, founder of Women’s Rights Foundation who has been working tirelessly to revolutionise abortion legislation on the island.

Eventually, Prudente was flown to the Son Espases University Hospital in Palma de Mallorca, where Prudente said she was hugged by hospital staff.

“It was a very human welcome, in sharp relief to our experience in Malta,” she told the Independent (UK).

Thankfully, she was able to receive an abortion in Spain.

This is a privilege not all Maltese women can enjoy.

This story came as shocking news to the public but unfortunately, it’s nothing new. Around four women a year in Malta endure a similar experience, meanwhile, hundreds are forced to travel to have an abortion.

However, according to Dimitrijevic, women are scared of taking legal action due to the intense taboo that can alter their lives in more ways than one. So, Prudente has decided to do it herself for all Maltese women living according to the blanket ban.

“I found myself in this unique position as an outsider where I won’t suffer those kinds of consequences for standing up and speaking out about something that I think is wrong,” Prudente said.

Prudente’s arguing that the Maltese government breached her human rights and the rights of all Maltese women. She is seeking an award for compensatory damages.

Prudente further hopes that her story reaches anti abortion activists, both in Malta and the US.

“Maybe the really staunch anti-abortion people might hear some of the details of my story and just for a moment get in my shoes or imagine that I am a woman that they love.”

“Maybe some of the people in Malta who are very hardline in their positions can hear this stuff and maybe have their hearts softened. It’s less clear than they currently feel it is. I’d like to see justice, an acknowledgement of this harm, that Andrea was harmed by the state,” Jay Weeldreyer, Prudente’s partner, explained to VICE.

The government is waiting on the results of a review into the abortion ban instigated by Prudente’s case. Prudente and Weeldreyer told VICE that they have not been contacted as part of this review.

Do you think abortion should be decriminalised in Malta?