Archie Battersbee is 12 years old and has been in a coma for nearly four months.
The British Supreme Court has received an appeal from the family of a brain-injured 12-year-old boy whose life support was allegedly cut off on Tuesday.
Parents of Archie Batterbee they want the Court to block a lower court ruling authorizing the Royal London Hospital to do so turn off the artificial respirator and suspend other interventions that keep the child alive.
The Supreme Court said it would decide whether to fully consider the appeal, saying it was aware “of the urgency of the matter”. Archie’s treatment was to be stopped on Tuesday at noon, but it is believed that the hospital would await the court’s decision.
Archie Battersbee has been in a coma since April 17.
The boy was found unconscious in his home with a rope over his head on April 17. His parents believe he was participating in a challenge he learned on the Internet: the blackout challenge Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, his parents, took their son to the hospital, where the doctors assured them that Archie would not survive that night. An MRI performed on May 31 confirmed his brain death.
The Blackout Challenge or Blackout Challenge, consists of a very serious challenge that circulates on TikTok, which consists of putting a belt around the neck to check how much time the participant can spend without breathing.
Archie hanged himself for performing a viral challenge.
This challenge on TikTok is based on social network users blocking their breath until they pass out and experience “strong sensations”. And as if that weren’t enough, some of the people who accept the challenge are registered with their mobile phones.
According to Archie’s family, this challenge would have caused the child to be brain dead.
The boy, equipped with a respirator since April 17.
That said, other users are asking to raise awareness to guide minors facing the very dangerous TikTok blackout challenge.
The opinion of doctors against the child’s family
Doctors say the boy is brain dead and continued life support would no longer be of any use.
Professionals have determined that the boy will never wake up, so they urged the family to disconnect Archie from the life support that keeps him alive. The family’s denial prompted the hospital to take the case to court, which over and over again agreed with the health workers, to the desperation of the child’s relatives.
The family has appealed to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and wants the decision to end treatment suspended while the jury examines the case.
Archie Battersbee and his mother Hollie
“We don’t understand what the rush is and why all our wishes are denied”, Archie’s mother Hollie Dance said.
The case is the latest in the UK to pit doctors against the wishes of families.
Archie Battersbee, the boy who is brain dead.
Under UK law, it is common for courts to intervene when parents and doctors disagree on the treatment of a child. In those cases, the rights of the child override the right of the parents to decide what is best for their child.
Source: Clarin