The European human rights court denied the 12-year-old Archie Battersbee’s parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee’s plea to intervene in the decision to terminate life support.
Battersbee’s parents appealed to the European Court of Human Rights after fruitless attempts to have the youngster continue receiving treatment were made in Britain’s top courts (ECHR).
The Strasbourg-based ECHR declared the application to be ‘inadmissible,’ emphasising that such requests were only ever allowed on an ‘exceptional basis.’
Archie was discovered unconscious at home in April after participating in an online asphyxiation challenge. He exhibited visible marks of having tied a rope around his head.
UK courts decided that stopping Archie’s life-sustaining therapy was in his best interests because doctors believe he is brain-stem dead.
The Supreme Court judges rejected their appeal, saying there was ‘little chance of any substantial recovery,’ but expressed ‘deep sorrow’ for Archie’s parents.
As 23-month-old Alfie Evans passed away in April 2018 following a contentious legal dispute between the hospital and his parents, this is not the first instance in which parents have faced up against Britain’s legal and healthcare systems.
Charlie Gard passed away a week before his first birthday as a result of a rare mitochondrial condition that causes gradual muscle weakening after doctors removed life support.
While it is common for British courts to intervene when parents and doctors disagree on the treatment of a child, the rights of the child take primacy over the parents’ right to decide what’s best for their offspring.
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