mardi 4 juillet 2017

Charlie Gard, the Pope, and Trump

For the benefit of non-UK posters, the story of baby Charlie Gard has been a regular but increasingly weary feature of the news here for the last nine months or so. Born with mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, he has been subject to a protracted legal battle between the parents - who want to take him to the United States for a treatment that has not yet even been tested on animals, let alone humans - and the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, where is is being kept on live support.

As reported by the BBC (as per link below), his condition:

"... is a rare genetic condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage because he is unable to get energy to his organs.

Doctors have said he now cannot see, hear, move, cry or swallow and has irreversible brain damage. His lungs are only able to keep going because of the treatment he is receiving."

On 11 April the High Court of England & Wales found that he should be allowed to die, and on 25 May the Court of Appeal refused to reverse the decision. Both the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights have agreed with the earlier ruling.

Now both the Pope and Donald Trump have weighed in:

BBC News: Charlie Gard - Pope and Trump offer parents support

"Pope Francis has called for the parents of terminally-ill Charlie Gard to be allowed to "accompany and treat their child until the end".

Chris Gard and Connie Yates had been expecting their 10-month-old's life support to be turned off on Friday.

But Great Ormond Street Hospital said it will continue Charlie's care to allow the family to spend more time with him.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump tweeted his support on Monday.

He wrote: "If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so." "


via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2tllD21

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