Parents lose high court fight to keep baby alive

Doctors can withdraw life-support treatment from a sick baby boy against his parents’ wishes, a high court judge has ruled.
Specialists at Great Ormond Street hospital (GOSH) in central London had told the court they believed it was time to stop providing life support for eight-month-old Charlie Gard, who has a rare genetic condition.
Doctors treating the infant say he has brain damage and should be moved on to a palliative care regime. His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, of Bedfont, west London, wanted to take him to a hospital in the US for a treatment trial.
Yesterday Justice Francis said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts but with complete conviction for Charlie’s best interests that I find it is in Charlie’s best interests that I accede to these applications and rule that GOSH may lawfully withdraw all treatment save for palliative care to permit Charlie to die with dignity.”
As he spoke, Gard buried his head in his hands and cried “no” as other family members broke down. The judge praised Charlie’s parents “for their brave and dignified campaign on his behalf” and “their absolute dedication to their wonderful boy from the day that he was born”.
He stressed funding was not an issue in the case. He said of the therapy offered in the US: “I dare say that medical science may benefit objectively from the experiment but experimentation cannot be in Charlie’s best interests unless there is a prospect of benefit for him.”
The judge added: “Charlie’s parents have sadly but bravely acknowledged and accepted that the quality of life that Charlie has at present is not worth sustaining, for he can only breathe through a ventilator, and although they believe that he has a sleep/wake cycle and can recognise them and react to them when they are close, they realise that he cannot go on as he is lying in bed, unable to move, fed through a tube, breathing through a machine.
“When Chris started his evidence he described himself as ‘Charlie’s proud father’. I am in no doubt at all that he and Connie are Charlie’s proud parents.” He said Charlie’s condition was extremely rare. At the outset of the hearing it seemed there was a “lone voice” in the US offering what had been described as “pioneering treatment” in some reports.
“Understandably, Charlie’s parents had grasped that possibility, they have done all they could possibly have done, they have very publicly raised funds. What parents would not do the same? But I have to say, having heard the evidence, that this case has never been about affordability, but about whether there is anything to be done for Charlie.”
The therapy in the US was “unknown territory “ and there was unanimity from among experts he had heard from that structural brain damage could not be reversed,  Francis said. “But if Charlie’s damaged brain function cannot be improved, as all agree, then how can he be any better off than he is now, which is a condition that his parents believe should not be sustained?”
Charlie’s parents were devastated by the court decision and struggled to understand why the judge had not “at least given Charlie the chance of treatment”, their solicitor, Laura Hobey-Hamsher, said.
Hobey-Hamsher said the couple wanted to look carefully at the decision and consider what they can do now. “This court has had to face one of the most fundamental issues for any court. It has not been easy. Lessons do, however, need to be learned about how medical professionals face decisions such as this, how they act with sufficient speed, and how they communicate with the families of desperately ill children such as Charlie.”
She added: “Connie and Chris want me to make clear how profoundly grateful they are for all of the help and generosity they have received throughout this time. This has been a difficult and painful case, and the support and phenomenal kindness of countless people has been a source of strength. They want me to pass on their thanks, and have asked that they now be allowed some time to consider what they need to do next. Their immediate priority is returning to, and spending time with, Charlie”
Francis had finished hearing evidence in the family division case on Friday.
Charlie’s parents raised more than £1.2mn over two months through an appeal on a GoFundMe website for the US treatment after more than 80,000 people pledged money.