Archie Battersbee's 'devastated' family told his life support due to be withdrawn tomorrow morning

August 05, 2022

Archie Battersbee's family has been told his life support is due to be withdrawn at 10am on Saturday.

A spokesman with campaign group Christian Concern, which is supporting Archie's family, said: "All legal routes have been exhausted.

"The family are devastated and are spending precious time with Archie."

It comes after they were dealt a double blow in their last-ditch attempt to have him moved to a hospice.

The family had applied to the Court of Appeal on Friday, challenging a ruling that blocked their plans to move him to a hospice before his life-sustaining treatment is withdrawn.

The Court of Appeal confirmed shortly after 6.30pm that permission to appeal had been refused.

The family then applied to the European Court of Human Rights over the decision, but the court said it would not intervene in the case.

A spokesman with campaign group Christian Concern, which is supporting Archie's family, said: "All legal routes have been exhausted.

"The family are devastated and are spending precious time with Archie."

In the Court of Appeal's refusal, three judges concluded the original ruling from Mrs Justice Theis "deals comprehensively with each of the points raised on behalf of the parents.

"We have reached the clear conclusion that each of her decisions was right for the reasons she gave," they said.

"It follows that the proposed appeal has no prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear an appeal."

A spokesman for the European Court of Human Rights said it had received a request from representatives of Archie's parents under Rule 39 which allow it to apply "interim measures" in "exceptional" cases where it "considers that the applicant faces a real risk of serious, irreversible harm if the measure is not applied".

However, it felt the complaints fell outside the scope of Rule 39.

'Major and unpredictable' risks with hospice move

Archie's mother, Hollie Dance, had said she wanted her brain-damaged son to "spend his last moments" together with family privately, but the High Court ruled the move was not in Archie's best interests, calling the risks "major and unpredictable".

His parents said they recognised the risks in relation to the transfer - with medical staff warning it could see Archie die in transit - but they argued to the court they were prepared to take them, rather than remain in hospital.

His parents have fought a long-running legal battle over the withdrawal of his treatment, which ultimately failed on Wednesday when the European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene.

Their focus then shifted to trying to get their son moved to a hospice.

The 12-year-old has been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother in April and is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.

His mother said he was taking part in an online challenge gone wrong, after she found him with a ligature around his neck.

Doctors treating him have said he is brain-stem dead and continuing his life support is not in his best interest.

Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, later said that Archie's condition is too unstable for him to be transferred.

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