We express our profound outrage and dismay at the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the case of Andrea Prudente. This judgement is a stain on women’s rights and reproductive healthcare in Malta. It serves only to reinforce the state oppression, medical misogyny and degrading treatment that pregnant people face in our country.

We are utterly appalled by the Court’s deeply patronising assertion that Andrea Prudente was “used” by pro-choice activists to push a legal agenda, and that she “played ball to their beliefs”. This claim by the Judge is a gross insult to her intelligence and autonomy. Andrea is a fully capable adult who recognised the danger she was in and advocated fiercely for her own health; to dismiss her lived experience and her trauma as mere manipulation strips her entirely of her agency.  

The judgment deliberately ignores global medical science. The Court completely disregarded the medical facts submitted by FIGO (The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics). FIGO is the global authority that represents Malta’s own gynaecologists, including the medical witnesses in this case, and sets the standard for safe maternity care worldwide. In their letter to the Judge, reproduced here, FIGO clearly stated that at 15 weeks, the chance of the fetus surviving is far lower than the mother’s risk of severe bleeding and deadly infection (sepsis). Pointing to medical research, FIGO highlighted that when waters break before 17 weeks, no babies survived, while a huge percentage of the women suffered from haemorrhage or infection. Instead of listening to the world’s top medical experts, the Judge used Andrea’s ability to survive an emergency flight to Spain as twisted “proof” that her life was never in danger.

Adding insult to injury, the judgement acknowledges Andrea’s terror but appallingly dismisses her severe distress as “somewhat self-inflicted” (xi naqra self inflicted). The Court blames her fear on the fact that she researched her own condition and refused to blindly agree with the local doctors’ “wait-and-see” protocol. Advocating for your own life and demanding modern medical care is not “self-inflicting” trauma: the trauma was inflicted by a state that forced her to wait for a potentially fatal infection to set in.

This ruling sends a chilling message to all pregnant people in Malta. It explicitly reinforces a culture of oppression, dictating that a woman’s life, health, and voice are secondary to Malta’s so-called public morals or religious ideology.  It reinforces a terrifying practice: women must literally be at death’s door before they are deemed worthy of receiving life-saving termination care. 

We stand in absolute solidarity with Andrea Prudente and her partner, Jay Wheeler, who endured unimaginable trauma, fear, and uncertainty under the Maltese healthcare system.  They were denied standard medical care, forced to arrange emergency medical evacuation to Spain, and are now being insulted by the very justice system that was supposed to vindicate them.

The pro-choice movement will not be silenced by judicial attempts to undermine our credibility or the autonomy of the women we support. We will continue to fight unapologetically for the decriminalisation of abortion, the protection of pregnant people’s lives, and a healthcare system rooted in science, compassion, and human rights.

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Il-Koalizzjoni Voice for Choice tesprimi r-rabja u d-diżappunt għas-sentenza tal-Qorti Kostituzzjonali fil-każ ta’ Andrea Prudente. Din is-sentenza hija tebgħa fuq id-drittijiet tan-nisa u fuq is-saħħa riproduttiva f’Malta. Din is-sentenza isservi biss biex issaħħaħ l-oppressjoni tal-istat, il-misoġinija medika, u t-trattament degradanti li persuni tqal jaffaċċjaw f’pajjiżna.

Aħna xxokkjati għal l-aħħar bl-istqarrija patronizzanti tal-Qorti fejn intqal li Andrea Prudente “ntużat” mill-attivisti pro-choice biex jimbuttaw aġenda legali, u li hija lagħbet il-logħba skont it-twemmin tagħhom (“played ball to their beliefs”). 

Din id-dikjarazzjoni mill-Imħallfa hija insult gravi għall-intelliġenza u l-awtonomija ta’ Andrea. Andrea hija mara adulta kapaċi, li għarfet il-periklu li kienet fih u qabżet għal saħħitha stess. Li tgħid li dak li għaddiet minnu u t-trawma tagħha huma “sempliċement manipulazzjoni”, tkun qed tneħħilha l-abbiltà li titqies bħala mara b’rieda u identità tagħha.

Il-Koalizzjoni tħoss li il-Qorti warrbet għal kollox il-fatti mediċi ppreżentati mill-FIGO (Il-Federazzjoni Internazzjonali tal-Ġinekoloġija u l-Ostetrija). Il-FIGO hija l-awtorità globali li tirrappreżenta lill-ġinekoloġi ta’ Malta stess, inklużi x-xhieda mediċi f’dan il-każ u tistabbilixxi l-istandard għall-kura tal-maternità madwar id-dinja. 

Fl-ittra tagħhom lill-Imħallfa, (ħolqa fil-kummenti), il-FIGO ddikjarat biċ-ċar li fil-ħmistax-il ġimgħa, iċ-ċans li l-fetu jgħix huwa ferm inqas mir-riskju li l-omm tbati minn emorraġija severa u infezzjoni fatali (sepsis). Waqt li rreferiet għar-riċerka medika, il-FIGO enfasizzat li meta jinfaqa’ l-ilma qabel is-17-il ġimgħa, l-ebda tarbija ma baqgħet ħajja, filwaqt li perċentwal kbir tan-nisa sofrew minn emorraġija jew infezzjoni. 

Minflok ma semgħet mill-aqwa esperti mediċi fid-dinja, l-Imħallfa użat il-fatt li Andrea rnexxielha ssalva minn titjira ta’ emerġenza lejn Spanja bħala “prova” li ħajjitha qatt ma kienet fil-periklu.

Biex tkompli tgħaxxaqha, is-sentenza tirrikonoxxi t-terrur ta’ Andrea iżda b’mod xokkanti twarrab is-sofferenza severa tagħha bħala “xi naqra self-inflicted”. Il-Qorti twaħħal il-biża’ li kellha fuq il-fatt li Andrea rriċerkat il-kundizzjoni tagħha stess u rrifjutat li taċċetta b’għajnejha magħluqa il-protokoll tat-tobba lokali ta’ “wait and see”. Il-koalizzjoni tħoss li t-trawma ġiet ikkawżata mill-Istat, li sfurzaha tistenna sakemm taqbadha infezzjoni li potenzjalment setgħet kienet fatali.

Din is-sentenza tibgħat messaġġ ikrah lill-persuni tqal f’Malta. 

Qed issaħħaħ b’mod espliċitu kultura ta’ oppressjoni. 

Qed tiddetta li l-ħajja, is-saħħa, u l-vuċi ta’ mara huma sekondarji għal dawk li jissejħu l-morali pubbliċi jew t-twemmin reliġjuz ta’ Malta. 

Qed issaħħaħ prattika tat-twerwir: in-nisa jridu litteralment ikunu f’xifer il-mewt qabel ma jitqiesu denji li jirċievu kura ta’ terminazzjoni li ssalva l-ħajja.

Aħna nibqgħu nuru solidarjetà assoluta ma’ Andrea Prudente u s-sieħeb tagħha, Jay Wheeler, li ġarrbu trawma, biża’ u inċertezza inkonċepibbli taħt is-sistema tal-kura tas-saħħa Maltija. Huma ġew imċaħħda mill-kura medika li hi standard f’pajjizi zviluppati. Kienu sfurzati jorganizzaw evakwazzjoni medika ta’ emerġenza lejn Spanja u issa qed jiġu insultati mis-sistema tal-ġustizzja stess li suppost kellha ttihom raġun.

Il-Koalizzjoni Voice for Choice mhuwiex se tiġi msikkta minn tentattivi ġudizzjarji biex jimminaw il-kredibilità tagħna jew l-awtonomija tan-nisa li nappoġġjaw. Se nkomplu niġġieldu bla apoloġija għad-dekriminalizzazzjoni tal-abort, għall-protezzjoni tal-ħajjiet tal-persuni tqal u għall-sistema ta’ kura tas-saħħa mibnija fuq ix-xjenza, il-kompassjoni, u d-drittijiet tal-bniedem.