Prudente, an American photographer, began to miscarry her pregnancy at 16 weeks during a holiday with her partner on the Mediterranean island, and had been told there was no hope for it. But because of the heartbeat - and despite Prudente's own life-threatening risk of haemorrhage and infection - doctors at the Mater Dei hospital in Msida would not intervene to end her very wanted pregnancy. Malta's ban on abortion in all circumstances - the only EU country to do so - prevented it.
Prudente sent the grief counsellor away. "It's like sending in a PTSD counsellor when the battle is still going on," she says.
It took a widely publicised medical evacuation by air ambulance to the Spanish island of Mallorca to bring Prudente's two-week ordeal to an end, and for her and her partner, Jay Weeldreyer, to begin to truly grieve for their loss.
This story is from the June 28, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the June 28, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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