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Archie Battersbee Loses Life Support After His Parents’ Final Appeal Was Rejected
His mom slammed the hospital for the “execution letter.”
Archie Battersbee hasn’t opened his eyes since April and the Court of Appeal has decided that it’s time for the 12-year-old to lose his life support. The boy was in a comatose state when his parents found him in his home in Southend, Essex, and had to be kept alive with life support from Barts Health NHS Trust.
Unfortunately, doctors believe that the boy doesn’t have a fighting chance as he has a brain-stem dead.
Keeping him alive with machines wouldn’t be in the boy’s best interests, but parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee think differently.
The parents attended the Court of Appeals’ virtual meeting to discuss the request made the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD). It essentially wants to keep Archie alive through life support, but after the review by High Court judge Mr. Justice Hayden, it was determined that he should be taken off.
Dance argued that his act is a “flagrant breach of Archie’s rights as a disabled person” and would be against the UK’s obligations under Articles 10 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities as well as Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
These articles protect people with disabilities to be guaranteed equal rights and access to facilities & ensure that children’s deaths are prevented to the utmost of the country’s abilities.
Judge Hayden spoke that it was truly a “tragedy of immeasurable dimensions.” He added, “There is, unfortunately, no treatment possible to reverse the damage that has been caused to Archie’s brain. There can be no hope at all of recovery.”
Finally, on the weekend, the parents received a letter from the Royal London Hospital, “We understand that any discussions around the withdrawal of Archie’s treatment are very difficult and painful. However, we want to ensure that you and your family are involved as much as you wish to be.”
Dance blamed the hospital for leaving parents to have to deal with the mess that was their mental state after simply being handed an “execution letter” instead of breaking down the news of losing her son to them “gently” in person.
