Pro-Choice Gynaecologist Denies Threatening Or Intimidating Andrea Prudente’s Consultant
Leading pro-choice gynaecologist Isabel Stabile has confirmed that she had contacted Andrea Prudente’s consultant Alberto Vella to discuss his patient’s case but denied claims by the pro-life lobby that she had threatened or intimidated him.
In a statement by Doctors for Choice, which Stabile is a member of, the pro-choice activist group called out pro-life group Doctors for Life for “falsely” claiming that the gynaecologist had placed undue pressure on doctors taking care of Prudente.
“While we acknowledge that we did contact the caring consultant during Ms Prudente’s admission after Ms Prudente’s partner sought help from us directly, at no point did we dictate what her medical management should be,” Doctors for Choice said.
“Neither did we threaten or intimidate any of her caring doctors in any way. It is important to note that the mention of one of our members in court did not come from the caring consultant, but from a third party who elected to make assumptions about the contents and context of a call which he was not a part of.”
Yves Muscat Baron
“It is lamentable that Doctors for Life chose to use this to name and target one of our members in a press release and make accusations based on unverified and factually incorrect information.”
“This suggests a lack of professional integrity on their part, and also constitutes an attack on patients’ right to seek a second opinion and make arrangements for care in alternative settings if they so wish.”
Testifying in a constitutional case Prudente opened against the Maltese state over its strict anti-abortion laws, Yves Muscat Baron – who heads Mater Dei’s Maternity and Gynaecology Department – said Vella had spoken to him after being contacted by Stabile.
Muscat Baron said Stabile had warned Vella that Prudente was in danger and told him that “you know what to do” and that this communication made Vella feel worried.
While Muscat Baron and Vella testified that Prudente’s fetus had a chance, although not a great one, of survival, Doctors for Choice warned they quoted an unreliable Israeli study in court.
“It is inappropriate to rely on the Israeli study by Herzlich, et al (2022), which is the study quoted in court that claims a survival rate of 79.2% from previable rupture of membranes,” they said.
“Ms Prudente ruptured her membranes at 15 weeks of pregnancy and left Malta at 16 weeks and a few days. The quoted study includes only 24 cases of ruptured membranes between 17 and 23 weeks, which is later than Ms Prudente’s case, and none of the women in that study who suffered ruptured members prior to the 19th week had a baby that survived to discharge.”
“We request that a discussion on the need for abortion healthcare in Malta be respectful and fair, and we believe it is unbecoming for anyone in the medical profession to make unfounded and incorrect statements against colleagues, or to quote research incorrectly.”
Cover photo: Left: Alberto Vella (Photo: F Living), Right: Isabel Stabile
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