Archie’s life support WILL be turned off after family loses last battle
The family of Archie Battersbee have lost a Supreme Court bid to keep his life support on, pending a review of his case by a UN committee.
A last ditch appeal attempt had been launched as his mother, Hollie Dance, vowed to ‘battle’ to keep her son alive.
The 12-year-old hasn’t regained consciousness since he suffered severe brain damage in April.
The Supreme Court stated this evening that ‘it was not in Archie’s best interests’ to continue treatment.
A spokesperson said: ‘The Justices have great sympathy with the plight of Archie’s devoted parents who face a circumstance that is every parent’s nightmare – the loss of a much-loved child.
‘It has to be borne in mind that, sadly, the central issue between Archie’s parents on the one hand and the NHS trust, which is supported by Archie’s very experienced guardian, has not been about Archie’s recovery but about the timing and manner of his death.’
It was ruled that decisions made previously to allow Archie’s life support to be turned off had been the correct ones.
Concluding, the panel added they reached their final decision ‘with a heavy heart’ and extended sympathies to Archie’s family.
The 12-year-old’s family had been at his side this afternoon as they awaited a verdict in the appeal process.
Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee had filed an application directly with the Supreme Court, asking for his treatment to continue so the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) could have time to consider their complaint, made last week.
The bid followed weeks of fraught legal battles between doctors and Archie’s family.
Speaking to reporters today outside the Royal London Hospital, Ms Dance said: ‘Legally, I think we’re exploring one more option this evening but that really is sort of the end.
‘I will continue to fight right until the bitter end. Is that the way forward in this country then we’re allowed to execute children because they’ve got disabilities? What next?’
This evening she said Barts Health NHS Trust will begin to withdraw Archie’s life support tomorrow at 11am unless the family submits an application to the European Court of Human Rights by 9am.
She said in a statement: ‘Heartbreakingly, the hospital trust have told us this evening that we cannot move Archie to a hospice.
‘We want to make an urgent application to the European Court of Human Rights, but the trust are saying that that has to be submitted at 9am, which gives us and our lawyers no time to prepare it.
‘They also demand to see a copy of it, which they have no right to see. However if this does not happen, they say they will withdraw treatment tomorrow morning at 11am. This is cruel and we are absolutely appalled.’
This afternoon, family friend Ella Carter said the 12-year-old’s parents were ‘constantly talking’ to Archie and ‘telling him what’s been going on’.
She had added: ‘We’ve got loads of videos of his boxers giving him inspirational messages, we’re constantly playing that to him.
‘He’s watching Stranger Things at the moment, playing his favourite music, we’re constantly talking to him.’
Inside disgusting student accommodation that costs £1,600 a monthArchie had been found at his home in Southend, Essex, on April 7 with a ligature over his head.
It is thought he had been participating in an online challenge that led him to lose consciousness, his mother said.
Today’s Supreme Court’s announcement had added: ‘While there was evidence that Archie was a child with religious beliefs, was very close to his mother and would not have wished to leave her alone, those are only some of the factors which the courts have to consider in their evaluation of where Archie’s best interests lie.
‘It was against that background that Mr Justice Hayden held that it would not be lawful to continue life-sustaining treatment.
‘The Court of Appeal upheld that judgment and this court refused permission further to appeal.
‘The panel is satisfied not only that the Court of Appeal has not erred in the sense mentioned above but that it made the correct decision.’
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