A British High Court judge has just authorized doctors to stop treating and keeping alive an 8-month-old baby suffering from a rare disease, against the advice of his parents who wanted him treated in the United States.
Little Charlie, born last August, has mitochondrial exhaustion syndrome, a rare disease that prevents energy from being supplied to cells. This causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.
Parents will appeal
His parents said they wanted to give their child “a chance to live”. They set up a crowdfunding campaign to finance an experimental treatment in the United States.
But according to the experts consulted by the Court, this treatment would only postpone the date of the death of the baby, who will never be able to recover. To better understand the condition of the child, the judge himself went to the hospital where he is kept alive artificially.
Faced with the judge’s verdict, the devastated parents left the court without even waiting for the end of the judge’s reasoning. They would consider appealing.
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