Alfie Evans, a nearly 2-year-old boy from Great Britain, suffers from a severe neurological disease. Against the wishes of his parents, despite the protests and involvement of Pope Francis himself, the doctors decided to disconnect the 23-month-old boy from the medical equipment. Alfie breathes alone and does not give up. However, it is not known how long it will survive without specialized equipment.
Alfie has been with Alder Hey since December 2016. He suffers from a severe, hitherto undiagnosed neurological disease. According to doctors, his brain is severely damaged and the child’s condition gradually deteriorates, which means that there is no chance of being saved. Despite numerous protests and the involvement of Pope Francis himself, the boy’s parents lost the battle with doctors and the British court, which decided to disconnect the boy from life-support equipment.
The boy’s parents lost all cases in British and European courts. In February, the English High Court of Justice decided to end the boy’s treatment at Alder Hey Hospital and disconnect him from his equipment. The parents filed a complaint but the Court of Appeal dismissed it. The case was rejected by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In addition, their case was also rejected by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
On Monday evening, the Italian authorities decided to grant little Alfie Italian citizenship in the hope that it would enable the transport of the child to the Vatican Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome, which is ready to continue his diagnosis and treatment. Efforts to save the child were undertaken by a well-known pediatric institution on the orders of Pope Francis, who received Father Alfie in audience last Wednesday.
A few hours later, however, a British court rejected another appeal by the boy’s parents to keep him alive, endorsing Alder Hey’s argument that it was “not in his best interest” and that further treatment could not only be “futile” but also ” inhuman”. On Monday evening, after consulting her parents, they decided to disconnect the two-year-old from the respirator.
A family court in Manchester rejected Alfie’s parents’ request for permission to move the child to Italy on Tuesday. The judge agreed with the doctors that such a move would be too dangerous for the child’s health. It would only be possible to bring the boy home or to a hospice.
Continuation of palliative treatment
In the evening, the statement was issued by the administration of the Liverpool children’s hospital where the boy is. The authorities of the facility stressed that, in the opinion of the court, it was “in Alfie’s best interest” to continue the palliative treatment plan. – Our top priority is to ensure Alfie receives the care it deserves to ensure that it is maintained in comfort, dignity and privacy. This implies working closely with the child’s parents, who spend this precious time with him, the statement emphasized.
The parents of the less than two-year-old Alfie Evans appealed against the decision of the court, which on Tuesday rejected their application for permission to transport the boy to Italy in order to further support his life, the British PA agency informed on Wednesday morning.