A judge in the UK has granted permission to staff at a hospital in Northamptonshire, England, to take a three-and-a-half-month-old baby off life support – against the wishes of his parents.
According to a report by the Guardian, the baby boy was born with the most severe type of muscular dystrophy – a condition which causes the muscles to progressively weaken and waste – and has been on life support since he was just 18 minutes old.
Medical experts claim that the disease is incurable, and that the time spent on life support in intensive care is of no benefit to the child.
Bosses at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust took the child’s case to the Family Division of London's High Court, requesting permission to take the baby off life support on the grounds that there is no likelihood of him ever leaving intensive care.
The child’s distraught parents stood against the request, insisting that their son is a ‘fighter’.
Praising the child’s parents for their dedication, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that the baby boy should be allowed to die. He ordered for arrangements to be made to move the baby into palliative care, specialising for the terminally ill.
Mr Justice Hayden said his ruling stemmed from specialist evidence that the child is in pain every day of his young life.
The child’s mother, who is naturally devastated, reportedly broke down when the judge’s ruling was delivered.
This is undoubtedly a very difficult time for the family, and our hearts go out to them.
