Archie Battersbee’s life support will be turned off at 11 a.m. on Wednesday after his family lost a Supreme Court battle to keep his life support from being turned off.
The child has been in a coma since suffering catastrophic brain damage after being discovered unconscious at home on April 7.
On Tuesday morning, his mother, Hollie Dance, said that her fight for her son’s life was “at the final stage,” as the family asked the Supreme Court to extend his life support beyond midday so that his case could be considered by the United Nations.
However, three Supreme Court justices said they would not hear the appeal because they were “satisfied not only that the Court of Appeal did not err [in refusing an extension], but that it made the correct decision” after reviewing the case papers.
Ms Dance stated on Tuesday evening that the Barts Health NHS Trust would begin withdrawing Archie’s treatment on Wednesday at 11 a.m. unless the family filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights by 9 a.m.
“The hospital trust has told us this evening, heartbreakingly, that we cannot move Archie to a hospice.” “In a statement, she said
“We want to make an urgent application to the European Court of Human Rights, but the trust says it has to be submitted at 9 a.m., giving us and our lawyers no time to prepare.”
“They also demand a copy, which they have no right to see.” If this does not happen, they say they will discontinue treatment at 11 a.m. tomorrow. This is heinous, and we are appalled.”
Archie’s family wishes to take him to a hospice for his “last days.”
After rejecting a last-ditch appeal for an extension while a UN committee considered his case on Monday, High Court judges ruled it was in Archie’s best interests for treatment to continue no later than midday on Tuesday.
He was still being treated by the hospital while the judges made their decision.
Ms Dance and Archie’s father, Paul Battersbee, were “extremely disappointed” by the decision, according to a statement issued by the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Archie’s parents’ legal action.
“No authorities, other than the UN [Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities], have shown us as a family any compassion or understanding.” “She stated. “We will fight to the bitter end.”
“I can honestly say that Archie would be very, very disappointed in our justice systems,” she told reporters after the decision.
“This is someone’s child… They’re not just stealing a child from Paul and me; they’re destroying the entire family.
“It’s not right, it’s not right, and something needs to be done – reform in this country is desperately needed.”
Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer for the Barts Health NHS Trust, which operates the Royal London Hospital where Archie is receiving treatment, stated: “Our heartfelt condolences go out to Archie’s family.
We will now work with the family to prepare for the withdrawal of treatment, as directed by the courts. We want to help everyone as much as we can during this difficult time.”
Archie was discovered unconscious at home in Southend, Essex, with a ligature around his head nearly four months ago, and his mother believes he was participating in an online challenge.
A judge previously stated that the medical evidence showed that “damage to [Archie’s] brain has deprived him of any bodily autonomy,” despite the fact that his family claimed to have seen signs of improvement in his condition and asked for more time.
What did the Supreme Court have to say?
The application for permission to appeal was considered by Lord Hodge, the court’s deputy president, along with Lords Kitchin and Stephens – the same panel of Supreme Court justices who rejected Archie’s parents’ appeal bid last week.
“As this panel stated in its note of determination last week, the justices have great sympathy with the plight of Archie’s devoted parents who face a circumstance that is every parent’s nightmare – the loss of a much-loved child,” the judges said in announcing the court’s refusal to hear the appeal.
However, they stated that the “central issue” was not Archie’s recovery, but rather the “timing and manner of his death.
“As Sir Andrew MacFarlane stated in his earlier July 25 judgement, there is no prospect of meaningful recovery.” Even if life-sustaining treatment was continued, Archie would die within a few weeks due to organ failure and then heart failure.”
“While there was evidence that Archie was a child with religious beliefs, was very close to his mother, and would not have wished to leave her alone,” the Supreme Court said, “those are only some of the factors that the courts must consider in determining where Archie’s best interests lie.”
“It was against this backdrop that Mr Justice Hayden [at the High Court on 15 July] ruled that continuing life-sustaining treatment would be unlawful.”
“The Court of Appeal upheld that judgement, and this court denied permission to appeal further.”
“The application now is for a stay of the order authorising the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment to allow the (UN) committee to consider Archie’s case, as requested by the committee.”
“The panel is satisfied that the Court of Appeal not only did not err in the sense mentioned above, but also made the correct decision.”
