April 13, 2017.
In the UK, the life of a baby with a serious, incurable disease has been placed in the hands of justice. The latter ordered the cessation of care for little Charlie but the child’s family could well appeal.
The judge wants to let Charlie “die with dignity”
It is a very difficult and extremely serious decision that a British court had to take on Tuesday 11 April, looking at the case of little Charlie, an 8-month-old baby with a rare mitochondrial disease that damaged his brain so much that, according to the doctors who treat him, he will never be able to heal. In this case, the latter pleaded for an end to treatment while the parents are fighting to try everything for his recovery.
Against the advice of parents, Judge Nicholas Francis ruled that doctors could stop treatment to leave Charlie ” to die with dignity “. Before rendering his decision, this judge had come to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to see for himself the state of health of the baby.
Charlie’s parents could appeal against Justice’s ruling
Charlie’s parents could now appeal this decision. The latter carried out a major campaign on the Internet, which enabled them to collect nearly 1.4 million euros. With this sum of money, they had until now intended to transfer their child to the United States where innovative therapy is practiced. But according to information from Guardian, Charlie’s case is now too advanced for even these treatments to give any hope of a cure.
On BBC Radio 4, Charlie’s family lawyer opened up about ruling that devastated the baby’s parents. They have a few days to decide whether or not to appeal. On the Internet, however, they said that in the event of their child’s care being stopped, all the money raised would be donated to medical research.
Read also: Dying with dignity: a real reflection
Sybille Latour
