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The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a recent attempt by a teenager’s parents to postpone the disconnection of life support devices. The family of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee is now struggling only to transfer the boy to a hospice, saying that it should be able to choose a place where she will spend her last moments.
- Archie Battersbee, 12, was found unconscious on April 7 at his home
- Since then, the teenager has been in a coma. Doctors ruled that Archie had died of his brain stem and that there was no chance of improving his health
- The parents lost the fight before the British Supreme Court for the boy not to be disconnected from the life support equipment. This decision has not been challenged by the European Court of Human Rights
- The relatives are still fighting for the choice of the place of Archie’s death. They plan to move him to a hospice
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage
Final decision on Archie Battersbee
On Wednesday evening, August 3, the decision of the European court was made not to intervene in this case. Archie’s family lawyers argued that stopping the boy from treating him would be in breach of Britain’s obligations under Art. 10 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Art. 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The teen’s mom, Hollie Dance, along with Archie’s father, Paul Battersbee, filed a petition in a European court just hours before Barts Health NHS Trust was due to disconnect their son’s life support equipment on Wednesday.
Earlier, UK Supreme Court judges said they had “a lot of sympathy” for Archie’s parents, but added that their son “has no prospect of any significant improvement in health.”
Parents fight: “it’s barbaric and hideous”
A spokeswoman for the family said yesterday that Archie’s life-support apparatus would be disconnected on Thursday, August 4 at 11am, unless a request is made to transfer the patient to a hospice.
She also confirmed that Archie’s family intended to file such a request with the London Supreme Court for a transfer from the Royal London Hospital. She explained that the boy’s relatives consider it “utterly barbaric and utterly hideous that they cannot even choose where Archie will spend his last moments.”
Hollie Dance said she wanted her son to have a “dignified death in a hospice,” adding that it was unfair that they had to fight to get him out of the hospital. In response to the European court’s decision, she replied: “All I will say is that I promised him that I would fight to the end, and that’s what I did.”
Archie Battersbee has been in a coma since April
The 12-year-old Briton has been in a coma since April 7. That day, he was found unconscious at his home in Southend, Essex, with signs of asphyxiation. He probably took part in a popular internet challenge, which is to make himself pass out.
Since then, he has been kept alive using medical equipment, including a ventilator and pharmacological treatment, at Whitechapel Hospital in East London. According to the doctors, the child’s brainstem has died, there has been cerebral death, and there is no point in keeping him alive any longer. Archie’s parents questioned this decision.
Doctors: Fighting to keep Archie alive is pointless. Likewise his move
The British Supreme Court, to which they appealed, nevertheless backed the hospital’s decision to disconnect the teenager from the medical apparatus as “ending life support is in his best interest”. The Supreme Court ruling argued that “every function of Archie’s organism is now supported by artificial means.” This decision has not been called into question by the European Court of Human Rights.
A Supreme Court order issued in July requires Archie to remain at the Royal London Hospital once he is disconnected from his vital support devices. According to medics, Archie’s condition is too unstable to be moved.
Transporting a boy by ambulance to another location “would likely accelerate the premature deterioration that the family wishes to avoid, even with full intensive care equipment and medical staff present while traveling.”
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