Charlie Gard, an 11-month-old baby, suffers from a rare genetic condition that affects the cells responsible for energy production and respiration, leaving him unable to move, see, cry or breathe without mechanical ventilation . Following the decision of the British justice in April 2017, the children’s hospital in Great Ormond Street (London), in which the little boy is located, had to stop keeping him alive. The court considered that keeping him alive would only prolong his suffering, with no hope of recovery. Two months later, in June 2017, the European Court of Human Rights upheld this decision and banned the hospital from transferring the child to another facility.
Support from Pope Francis and Donald Trump
Pope Francis, in a Vatican press release, asked that little Charlie can be cared for to the end “The Holy Father follows with affection and emotion the affair of little Charlie Gard and expresses his closeness to his parents”. President Donald Trump has also shown his support for the family in a tweet. Following these messages, on Monday July 10, 2017, the British High Court of Justice reconsidered its judgment and leaves 48 hours for the parents to prove the interest of taking the baby for treatment in the United States. Once there, the father and mother of little Charlie want to provide their son with a new experimental treatment, which has so far been used on only a dozen patients and who could perhaps cure him.
In addition to the 429,654 signatures of support, the parents also collected 1,330,303 pounds (or 1,499,845 euros) on the donation platform gofundme to finance the trip to the United States.
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