malformation

At the age of 21, in 2014, Charlotte was diagnosed with chiari malformation type 1 - a condition in which part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal - and syringomyelia, a rare neurological disorder.

The death of Izabela and her baby came months after a Constitutional Court ruling took effect that banned abortions in cases of severe foetal malformation.

According to the research, the increase in infant mortality due to congenital malformations was consistent with women being denied abortions for non-viable pregnancies - where a pregnancy cannot possibly result in a liveborn baby.

That’s because an infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly, which is when a baby's head is much smaller than expected, and other congenital malformations like limb contractures, high muscle tone, eye abnormalities, and hearing loss.

Tests on the body showed Abiyah was suffering from a catalogue of conditions including rickets, anaemia, stunted growth, bone malformation and deformity, bone fractures and severe dental decay.