A WEB OF DECEIT INDEED, DEAR JOE BORG

Testifying under oath in a court case involving a pregnant US woman denied a termination at Mater Dei hospital last year, consultant head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Mater Dei Hospital, Yves Muscat Baron last week stated that following developments over the past decades, there is now a 79.2% survival rate of the "unborn baby" when the mother’s waters rupture before 20 weeks. Muscat Baron was testifying in constitutional proceedings related to Andrea Prudente, who suffered a ruptured membrane when she was 16 weeks pregnant.

The news reports on the testimony, immediately contested by Doctors for Choice and other pro-choice groups, elicited premature celebrations of victory from the anti-choice movement, particularly from Joe Borg, who, accusing the pro-choice NGOs of lying, said:

“The Prudente case was the casus belli to justify (the government’s proposed bill that would permit the termination of pregnancy if the mother’s life or health are in serious jeopardy). However, medical consultants giving evidence under oath in court tore to bits the web of lies and deceit that manipulators of Andrea Prudente’s predicament spun. Medical consultants testified that Prudente’s life was never in danger; that babies in a similar situation had a 79.2 per cent survival rate and that a woman hospitalised for the same condition and at the same time as Prudente now has a healthy baby”.

Today, an independent fact-checking report commissioned by The Times of Malta shows that not only has Joe Borg and others like him rushed to conclusions, maliciously slandering people who were right all along, and in so doing clearly displaying either incompetence or malice, but that their hero the consultant head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Mater Dei Hospital has either committed perjury or made serious incompetent mistakes in his testimony.

I will only quote select parts of the report.  The full report may be found here.

The Times of Malta asked Dr Muscat Baron whether his court testimony was referring to the study cited by Doctors for Choice that showed the opposite result that he claimed. Muscat Baron would not answer the question (of course not) but directed the Times of Malta to the Health Ministry which declined to comment. 

The Times of Malta reports that the study, carried out by a group of Israeli researchers, explored the survival rates of infants born to mothers who had experienced preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) between 17 and 33 weeks of gestation. The study does not explore the survival rate of infants born in cases where PPROM occurs before 17 weeks of gestation. Ms Prudente was only 16 weeks pregnant. 

The Times of Malta's independent fact-checking report concludes that although the study does find a survival rate of 79.2% for infants born in cases of PPROM before 24 weeks of gestation, it dos not make this claim for cases specifically before 20 weeks. A closer look at the data reveals that while the study does find cases of survival at 19 weeks, this was a minority finding. None of the observed cases at 17 or 18 weeks survived. 

The report therefore concludes that the claim made under oath in court is therefore mostly false because the evidence generally refutes the claim, although some minor aspects may be accurate. 

It remains to be seen how Joe Borg and the rest of the "lying for Jesus" brigade will spin this one, given that a public apology for slandering and calling liars people who were right all along would be too much to ask for.

See also: REPETITION IS INDEED VERY POWERFUL