Archie was due to be withdrawn from treatment at 2pm today – but following Government and UN interventions a virtual Court of Appeal hearing will now take place at 11am. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had asked the UK government to halt the withdrawal of Archie’s life support until it had a chance to review the case. The government’s legal advisers then asked the Supreme Court to “urgently consider” the UN request. Archie has been on life support since April after he was found unconscious at his mother’s home in Southend, Essex. Doctors treating him at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, say he is brain-stem dead and continued life-support treatment is not in his best interests. Archie’s mother, Hollie Dance, said: “We are relieved that the government has taken the UN intervention seriously. This was not a “request” but a temporary order from the UN. “The stress of being told Archie is going to be taken off life support has been horrendous. We are already heartbroken and not knowing what was going to happen next is excruciating.” Image: Archie and his mother Hollie Dance On Saturday, Mrs Dance sent a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, urging him to help save her son’s life. He wrote: “If this happens, it will be extremely cruel and a flagrant violation of Archie’s rights as a disabled person.” Mrs Dance said Barts Health NHS Trust, which is treating her son, has given her details of how doctors will withdraw treatment and leave the family to watch him die. A High Court judge had ruled that ending treatment was in Archie’s best interests after considering evidence from clinicians. Archie has not regained consciousness since April 7 and Ms Dance said she believes he may have taken part in an online challenge before he self-harmed. Archie’s family argue that stopping the treatment would breach the UK’s obligations under Articles 10 and 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child . These international obligations say that states must take all necessary measures to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy equal rights and that governments must do all they can to prevent the deaths of children and young people.
