Call for inquiry into prisoner's miscarriage

The prison's Visitors Board has been instructed to investigate an inmate's miscarriage over Christmas week.

Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl, the NGO that fights for prisoners' rights, has called on the authorities to initiate an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the miscarriage by a 24-year-old woman currently held in custody.

According to the NGO, the woman, a Maltese, did not know she was pregnant. Despite the woman undergoing two medical tests while in custody, the NGO claimed, nobody realised she was pregnant.

The woman suffered from intense abdominal pains and insisted she be given proper medical treatment. The miscarriage is likely to have occurred because of negligence by the health authorities involved, the NGO said.

The woman did not know she was pregnant probably because her drug habit had interrupted her menstrual cycle, Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl said.

However, when she was remanded in custody, neither the prison medical staff nor personnel at Mount Carmel Hospital, where she was sent because of her addiction, seem to have realised she was pregnant, despite urine samples, the NGO said.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Justice which is responsible for the prison, confirmed that the woman had been medically examined both in prison and at St Luke's Hospital.

According to the ministry, methadone - a drug used to treat narcotic addiction - was prescribed to the inmate at Mount Carmel Hospital. The ministry added that the administration of methadone minimises the risk of miscarriage.

Nonetheless, the statement did not confirm nor deny whether the authorities knew the woman was pregnant.

As soon as the prisoner miscarried, the ministry said, the prison's Visitors Board was informed and asked to carry out the necessary investigations and take the appropriate measures.

Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl also asked why the inmate's relatives were not informed.

On this point, the ministry noted that it is standard practice for the prison authorities to ask inmates for the contact details of their relatives in case they need to be reached.

The woman did not supply such details, the ministry added.