doctors file appeal against abortion ban and hope to get a trial

Some 135 doctors in Malta filed a legal appeal against the ban on abortion in this archipelago of 460,000 inhabitants, Monday, June 27, where women risk up to three years in prison in the event of abortion. The appeal requests the abolition of an article of the Penal Code providing for up to four years in prison and a life ban from practicing for doctors performing abortions.

This provision “prevents doctors from providing immediate and timely care, and this delay endangers the lives and health of pregnant women”, say the doctors behind the appeal filed against the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health. These health professionals are now hoping for a trial to plead their case. According to the NGO Doctors for Choice, which campaigns for the legalization of abortion, they represent around 5% of doctors in the Mediterranean archipelago.

Their move comes about a week after a Maltese hospital refused to abort an American tourist suffering from complications related to her pregnancy. Andrea Prudente, 38, was on holiday there when her water broke after heavy bleeding during her 16th week of pregnancy. The baby had no chance of surviving, but doctors refused to intervene.

Her husband, Jay Weeldreyer, said doctors were waiting for her to have a natural miscarriage, for the baby’s heartbeat to stop or “that she has a life-threatening infection” that would spur them to action. Concerned about the risk of sepsis, the couple were eventually flown to Spain, where the woman received treatment, he said. The incident sparked protests in Malta and drew international attention to that country’s laws including po. Malta is the only country in the European Union that completely bans abortions.