UN Steps In as Archie Battersbee’s Life Support Faces Switch-Off
The UK government has been urged by a United Nations committee to keep 12-year-old Archie Battersbee on life support while his case is urgently reviewed. The Court of Appeal will hear the matter at 11 a.m., just three hours before doctors plan to end his care at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Archie’s Fight for Life: Critical Hearing Looms
Archie was found unconscious at his home in Southend, Essex, on April 7. He has never regained consciousness since. His mother, Hollie Dance, believes Archie was involved in a dangerous online challenge causing his condition.
Currently treated at the Royal London Hospital, doctors have declared Archie brain-stem dead and recommended life support be withdrawn, considering it in his best interests. Last week, the Appeal Court backed this move, allowing doctors to legally disconnect his ventilator.
Family Appeals to UN; Legal Stay Halts Life Support Switch-Off
Archie’s family fought back, appealing to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNRPD). They claimed the committee’s protocols protect disabled people’s rights and requested that life support be maintained during their investigation.
The government has now accepted the UN’s urgent request, imposing a legal “stay” to halt treatment withdrawal until Monday at 1 p.m.
“This was not a ‘request,’ but a UN interim measures injunction,” said Hollie Dance. “Being told that Archie’s life support will be removed tomorrow at 2 p.m. has been terrifying. We were already broken, and not knowing what would happen next was excruciating.”
Official Responses and Next Steps
Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, expressed sympathy: “Our deepest thoughts are with Archie’s family at this difficult time.” He confirmed the plan to withdraw treatment will proceed unless courts decide otherwise at Monday’s hearing.
The Department of Health and Social Care stated: “We recognise this is an exceptionally difficult time for Archie Battersbee’s family, and our thoughts are with them.”
As the UK has signed the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the UN legally requested the government to delay withdrawal during their review, confirmed by Christian Concern, who is assisting the family.
