Life-sustaining treatments for a brain-dead 12-year-old British boy were due to be stopped on Saturday morning after a legal battle between the family, who oppose stopping treatment, and the hospital, his mother told Sky News. Friday night.
Archie Battersbee had been in a coma in a London hospital since April. He was considered brain dead and the British court had authorized the hospital in mid-July to end the treatments that keep him alive.
His parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, who are supported by a Christian organization, had to resolve to let their son die after having exhausted all legal remedies, in the United Kingdom and before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
“No choice”
The hospital was “very clear” that “there is no other option” and that life-sustaining care would be interrupted this Saturday at 11 a.m. French time, the boy’s mother said in an interview Friday night.
“It was very hard,” she said, “I’m broken.” “I did everything I promised my little boy I would do,” she said.
The parents had made final legal challenges to have their son released from the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, and transferred to hospice for completion of treatment, to no avail.
“Taking into account the wishes of the family and their motivations, the facilities of the residence, what Archie would have wanted, the risks of a move and his increasingly fragile health, (…) I think it is in his best interest to remain in the hospital for cessation of treatment,” the London High Court judge said on Friday.
The hospital considers her condition too unstable for a transfer, which “could most likely accelerate the deterioration feared by the parents.”
A social media challenge
Archie was found unconscious in his home on April 7 and has not regained consciousness since. According to his mother, he participated in a social media challenge to hold his breath until she passed out.
His parents claimed to have seen signs of life but for the medical union his case is desperate, justifying the cessation of treatment.
In a statement Friday night, the hospital group in charge of Archie Battersbee’s care expressed “deep sympathy” for the boy’s family. “As ordered by the courts, we will work with the family to prepare for cessation of treatment, but will not make any changes to Archie’s care until pending legal matters are resolved,” the statement continued.
A series of similar cases in the UK
The United Kingdom has already been marked in the recent past by two other comparable cases.
In April 2018, a 23-month-old boy, Alfie Evans, who suffered from a rare neurodegenerative disease, died after a long legal battle by his parents against the cessation of treatment. His parents had received in particular the support of Pope Francis, who had launched several appeals for the maintenance of the child’s life.
In 2017, Charlie Gard, suffering from a rare genetic disease, died shortly before his one-year birthday, after the cessation of artificial ventilation despite the multiplication of appeals from his parents.
Source: BFM TV
