Controversy in the United Kingdom over a ruling that authorizes the disconnection of a child against the will of his parents

Controversy in the United Kingdom over a ruling that authorizes the disconnection of a child against the will of his parents

Is about Archie Batterbeehospitalized at the Royal Hospital in Whitechapel, in east London, who suffered brain damage on April 7, when his parents found him unconscious, presumably after having participated in a challenge or viral game on the internet.

The doctors treating him told the court that he was “very likely” that the child is “brain dead” and asked to be taken off life support.

Judge Justice Emma Arbuthnot ruled that the boy has irreversible brain damageso it should be disconnected from the machines that keep it alive.

In his ruling, he authorized medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital to disconnect the boy’s mechanical ventilator, not continue medication administration, and not attempt any cardiac or pulmonary resuscitation when cardiac output or respiratory efforts cease.

The judge also stated that if Archie Battersbee “remains on mechanical ventilation, sudden death is the likely outcome and prospects for recovery are nil.”

“I find that Archie died at noon on May 31, 2022, shortly after the MRIs were done that day. I believe that irreversible cessation of brainstem function has been conclusively established,” he wrote in his ruling.

Archie Battersbee and his mother

However, the child’s parents Holly Dance Y Paul Battersbeewho will appeal the sentence, maintain that their son’s heart continues to beat and they want the treatment to continue.

His mother said she is “extremely disappointed” by the judge’s decision to end her life support, but says she will not give up her son.

“Basing this judgment on an MRI scan and him being ‘likely’ dead is not enough. This must be the first time someone has been declared ‘probably’ dead based on an MRI test,” he said.

She said she felt “disgusted” that the hospital and the judge had not taken the family’s wishes into account, adding that she did not think “Archie has been given enough time.” “Her heart is still beating, she has held my hand and as her mother I know she is still there.“, said.

Archie’s family is also asking people to attend a vigil for the boy outside the hospital.

This is not the first time that the UK justice has authorized the disconnection of a minor against the will of their parents.

In 2018 the case of alfie evans toured the world. The little boy, barely 21 months old, who suffered from an undiagnosed degenerative neurological condition, was disconnected from life support after a ruling by the United Kingdom Supreme Court that supported the doctors’ request.

The justice then confirmed that the baby “had lost the ability to hear, see, smell or respond to touch due to the catastrophic degeneration of his brain.” “Keeping the child attached to the pulmonary ventilation machine would compromise Alfie’s future dignity,” she concluded.

Source: Ambito

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