Prudente was enjoying her holiday in Malta back in June when her pregnancy was found to be unviable by Maltese doctors. However, she was denied an abortion, even though her own life was at risk.

This happened even though she was told by Maltese doctors that her placenta had become partially detached and there was “zero chance” her pregnancy would be a success.

Prudente then had to be airlifted out of Malta in order to have her pregnancy terminated elsewhere, being taken to Spain to receive the medical treatment that she required.

She had detailed how Malta’s medical staff advised her that her only options were to wait for the foetus’s heartbeat to stop or for her to develop an infection, after which they could terminate the pregnancy.

Consequently, Prudente spoke to several international media houses, including the UK’s The Guardian, about her ordeal, with the matter making international headlines. 

Lawyer Dimitrijevic is also the founder of the Women’s Rights Foundation, which has been working tirelessly to decriminalise abortion in Malta.

Currently, abortion in Malta is legislated by articles 241(1) and 242, which both prohibit anyone from getting an abortion and impose a penalty on the person who terminates a pregnancy and any person who assists them.

A guilty sentence carries a prison term of anything between 18 months to three years.

Does Malta need to decriminalise abortion?