Friends of an American woman whose request to terminate a non-viable pregnancy was turned down by the Maltese health authorities are collecting funds for her after she was airlifted to Spain for the procedure.

Andrea Prudente and her partner Jay Weeldreyer were on a babymoon in Malta earlier this month.

The 38-year-old woman was 16 weeks pregnant when she began bleeding profusely and was told by doctors that the pregnancy was no longer viable.

The couple were on a babymoon in Malta when Andrea's waters broke at 16 weeks. Photo: Jay Weeldreyer

However, her request for a termination was denied because of Malta's strict anti-abortion laws and Prudente spent a week at the hospital waiting for the foetus inside her to die.

The ordeal made international headlines after the couple decided to go public with their story in an appeal for help. 

After over a week in Mater Dei hospital, Prudente’s travel insurance enabled her to fly to Mallorca in Spain, where she completed the procedure.

Her partner told Times of Malta they could finally deal with the loss of their daughter and grieve. However, they will be out of pocket as the insurance will only cover a portion of the expenses.

Weeldreyer’s sister Kimberly Myron set up a Go Fund Me page to collect funds to cover the “sky-high medical bills” the couple will have to foot.

She describes the couple’s experience in Malta as a “nightmare”.

“It should have been relatively easy for the medical staff to help, and then time to heal physically and emotionally,” she said, also noting that they spent a week “hoping and praying that a deadly infection wouldn’t take over”.

So far, Myron has raised $20,640.

Fundraiser to heal from Malta trauma

A separate fundraiser was set up by Prudente’s friend and fellow dancer Krissy Chaffee to help the couple “recover from the trauma” they experienced in Malta.

The fundraiser notes that apart from medical care, they now face several other financial concerns.

“They were supposed to be home a week ago, but clearly won't be returning until Andrea is well enough physically to travel half the globe. Not only do they need to cover travel changes, but time away from work, and time to deal with the trauma of their situation.”

Chaffee is urging people to consider donating or sharing the couple’s story, especially in such “unprecedented times in the US”.

“Sadly, Andrea's story won't be the last of her kind and we are facing many more stories like this in our ‘civilised’ nation. Let's do everything we can to help these amazing humans to start to heal from this terrible tragedy.”

On Friday, the US supreme court overturned a landmark case granting women the right to terminate a pregnancy. The reversal of the 50-year-old Roe v Wade case on Friday will allow American states to ban abortion.

Among others, president Roberta Metsola has warned that the “regression of women's rights in the US, and in other places around the globe” was “a worrying trend”.