Boy, 12, dies after doctors switch off his life support following a hard fought legal battle by his parents
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- Archie Battersbee, 12, has died after his parents lost the legal battle to keep him on life support.
- He was found unconscious after strangling himself with a dressing-gown cord in a TikTok challenge.
- His life support was removed at 5am EST today, and he died just over two hours later.
Archie Battersbee died after his parents spent months battling with hospitals, the UK High Court,the European Court of Human Rights, and the UN, in an attempt to keep him on life support.
Yesterday, the High Court ruled that the twelve-year-old could be moved from the hospital in London to a hospice.
His mother said Archie died just over two hours after he was taken off life support.
"He was taken off medication. His stats remained stable until two hours later when they removed the ventilation," said Ella Rose Carter, Archie's sister-in-law-to-be, speaking outside the Royal London hospital.
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"There is absolutely nothing dignified about watching a family member or a child suffocate. We hope no family has to go through what we have been through. It's barbaric."
Also, speaking outside the hospital, Archie's mom said he is "such a beautiful little boy and he fought right until the very end, and I am so proud to be his mum."
Archie, a talented gymnast, was rushed to hospital from his home in Essex on April 7 after his mother found him unconscious, suspended by his neck from the banisters in the family home after he'd been playing with his dressing gown cord.
His mother, Hollie Dance, believes this was a part of a dangerous TikTok challenge called the "blackout challenge," which ultimately caused a catastrophic brain injury.
The young boy has been in hospital, on life support, since the incident.
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Doctors ruled Archie brain dead on June 13, but Dance has disagreed with the decision, saying she's felt Archie squeeze her hand.
She fought hard for the British court system to allow her son to be kept on life support, even taking the case to the UN, but doctors consistently ruled that it would not be in his best interest to keep him on ventilation.
Andrea Williams, the chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which has been supporting the family's case, said: "Our thoughts, prayers and support are with Archie's family at this tragic moment.
"We will continue to support the family, as we have done throughout, ever since they came to us after being issued with last-minute legal proceedings to remove life support from Archie," per The Guardian.