Archie Battersbee’s parents turn to European Court of Human Rights to delay life support withdrawal
Archie Battersbee’s parents said that they have submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a bid to postpone the withdrawal of the 12-year-old boy’s life support on Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
The 12-year-old boy from the UK, who has been in a coma state since the day he was found unresponsive by his mother, is currently being kept alive with the help of life support at the Royal London Hospital. However, his life support was supposed to be withdrawn at 11 am on August 3, 2022, his mother informed.
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Archie Battersbee, 12, set to be taken off life support on Monday despite UN intervention
Archie’s parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee were given a second chance on Monday after the government asked the judges of the UK court to consider the last-minute appeal of the United Nations committee to keep treating Archie while they looked into the case. But the three judges' panel refused to postpone their decision and ruled out the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment beyond midday on Tuesday. The judges even refused to grant permission to challenge their ruling in the Supreme Court.
But Hollie and Paul, who have repeatedly fought back against a court ruling, are not going to back down from the fight so fast. As a last-ditch resort, the battered parents will be making an urgent application to the European Convention on Human Rights.
"Our solicitors will be filing to the European Court of Human Rights. They've been given a strict timeline of 9 am. Again, no time whatsoever. Every single court case we've had we've had no time at all, one or two days to prepare and get the whole case together," said Hollie.
However, the couple will have to race against time as they have to reach the European Convention on Human Rights and submit their appeal before the deadline.
Dance earlier revealed her legal team described the attitude of the Royal London Hospital towards her 12-year-old as brutal. The doctors of the Royal London Hospital who are treating Archie have already declared the boy brain dead and claimed that continuing life support treatment would not be in his best interests.
After looking closely at Archie’s case, Supreme Court judges said they have "great sympathy" for his parents, but expressed that there is "no prospect of any meaningful recovery".
Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer for Barts Health NHS Trust, said, “Our deepest sympathies remain with Archie’s family. As directed by the courts, we will now work with the family to prepare for the withdrawal of treatment. She added, “We aim to provide the best possible support to everyone at this difficult time.”
For the unreversed, Archie Battersbee, a 12-year-old UK boy suffered catastrophic brain damage at his home in Southend, Essex, on April 7, 2022. The boy was found unconscious with a ligature over his head by his mother Hollie Dance, who assumed the ligature could have been due to his participation in an online asphyxiation challenge
