Baby Archie’s Treatment Set to End Amid Court Fights and UN plea
Life Support to Stop at 2pm on August 1
Barts Health NHS Trust has informed Archie Battersbee’s parents that all his fluids and medications, including vasopressin, will be stopped at 2 p.m. on August 1. The heartbreaking letter acknowledges how “difficult and painful” these decisions are but stresses the family will be as involved as they want.
Mother’s Furious Plea to Health Secretary
Archie’s mum, Hollie Dance from Southend, has slammed the planned withdrawal as “extraordinary cruelty” and a “flagrant violation” of Archie’s rights. She begged Health Secretary Stephen Barclay to “act immediately” to prevent the treatment ending.
“If this happens, it will be extraordinary cruelty, and a flagrant violation of Archie’s rights as a disabled person,” said Ms Dance.
Archie’s parents, who are divorced but both live locally, failed to get the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. The Christian Legal Centre backs their fight and they have made a desperate plea to the UN to step in at the last minute.
UN Steps In to Delay Withdrawal
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has requested that life-sustaining treatment, including artificial nutrition and ventilation, not be withdrawn while they consider Archie’s case. Their letter stresses this is a precaution and not a final decision.
Barts Trust Says Delaying ‘Inappropriate’
Without a new court order, Barts Health’s chief medical officer, Alistair Chesser, said delaying palliative care would be “inappropriate.” The government’s Department of Health expressed sympathy for the family and said they are reviewing the UN letter.
As this tragic drama unfolds, the clock ticks down for baby Archie’s life support. The country watches on this heart-wrenching battle between medicine, law, and desperate parents fighting to save their child.
