The Andrea Prudente case: the Maltese court exonerates the system and condemns the victim
The European Centre of the International Council of Women (CECIF) expresses its deep indignation and dismay following the ruling by the Constitutional Court of Malta in the Andrea Prudente case[1]. This ruling constitutes an attack on women’s rights, on their autonomy and on their fundamental right to receive science-based medical care.
In 2022, while suffering an inevitable miscarriage at 16 weeks of pregnancy, Andrea Prudente was refused a termination of pregnancy – medically indicated- in Malta. Although the foetus had no chance of survival, she was forced to wait until her condition worsened, under the threat of a potentially fatal sepsis, before being urgently evacuated to Spain to receive the care she had been denied.
The Court had the opportunity to recognise that no woman should be subjected to such treatment. It chose the opposite course. Instead of condemning a system that put a woman’s life at risk, it implicitly condemns the woman herself. In a paternalistic statement, the judgement asserts, for example, that Andrea Prudente was ‘used’ by pro-choice movements, as if she would be incapable of thinking for herself or understanding her medical situation and making her own decisions.
Even more shocking is the manner in which the Court criticises Andrea Prudente for travelling while pregnant, for walking after her first visit to hospital, and—not to mention—for having sexual relations with her partner after experiencing initial bleedings or even for not trying to understand what she was going through! Through this mechanism it is not the judicial and medical systems that are being indicted but the victim that is blamed for her miscarriage! The Court stretches even further, considering her trauma was partly ‘self-inflicted’, because she was looking for information and refused to passively accept a strategy that had her wait for a potentially fatal infection to develop before intervening. Trying to save one’s own life is not a fault. Andrea Prudente’s trauma did not stem from her internet research; it stemmed from a system that denied her care until she was close enough to death!
By painting the picture of a woman who, through her own choices, allegedly contributed to her own misfortune, the Court shifts the responsibility from those who deprived her of care onto the woman who tried to save her own life. The judgement also disregards the scientific evidence presented by the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), which clearly established that the foetus had no chance of survival and that continuing the pregnancy exposed Andrea Prudente to a major risk of septicemia and hamorrhage. Instead of relying on science, the decision endorses an approach in which ideology takes precedence over medical evidence.
ECICW expresses its full solidarity with Andrea Prudente and her partner, Jay Wheeler. Their story is not one of an ideological fight. It is that of a couple expecting a child, experienced the loss of that pregnancy in circumstances of extreme violence, and had to organise an emergency medical evacuation to another country to save Andrea’s life. ECICW also commends the courage and determination of Andrea Prudente’s lawyer, Dr Lara Dimitrijevic, as well as Voice for Choice Malta, who are continuing their fight for women’s rights despite a particularly hostile political and judicial climate.
This decision extends far beyond Malta’s borders; it calls on all European institutions to take action. ECICW calls on the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe to strongly condemn this decision and to reiterate that no woman in Europe should be denied medical care based on ideological grounds.
No woman should be forced to arrange her own transfer to another country to receive the care that will save her life.
No woman should have to wait until she is on the verge of death to receive treatment.
No woman should be held responsible for the violence inflicted upon her by institutions, A judicial system that blames a woman for wanting to survive undermines the protection of fundamental rights that the European Union is supposed to guarantee.
Malta is a Member State of the European Union and, as such, is obliged to respect the values and fundamental rights on which the Union is founded. The European Parliament’s resolution of 11 April 2024 calling for the right to safe and legal abortion to be enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union serves as a reminder that sexual and reproductive rights are human rights. The decision of the Maltese Constitutional Court opposes this requirement and cannot go unanswered by the European institutions.
Consequently, the European Centre of the International Council of Women (ECICW)[2] will request an examination of this decision in order to verify its compatibility with the obligations of the European treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the principles of the rule of law.
Women’s fundamental rights must not vary from one Member State to another, particularly when their lives, health and autonomy are at stake.
[1] Civil Court of Malta (First Hall, Constitutional Jurisdiction), Andrea Prudente v. the State of Malta, Application No. 499/2022MH, Judgment of 1 July 2026
[2] The European Centre of the International Council of Women (CECIF) acts, in accordance with its Statutes and the resolutions adopted by the International Council of Women (ICW), to promote and protect the fundamental rights of women, including their sexual and reproductive rights. The relevant reference texts are available on the CECIF website (https://cecif-ecicw.com/en/home/) and the International Council of Women website (https://www.icw-cif.com/), including the resolution “Abortion: A Right Under Threat” (https://www.icw-cif.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2022-ICW-CIF-Voted-Resolutions.pdf).