A British court has rejected a request by the parents of a comatose boy to allow them to move their son to a hospice when hospital doctors withdraw his life-support treatment. Barring any further legal action, the ruling would open the door for doctors at the Royal London Hospital to end life-sustaining treatments for 12-year-old Archie Battersby. He has been in a coma since early April and doctors believe he is brain dead. “All our wishes as a family have been denied by the authorities,” said his mother, Holly Dance. “We are devastated, but we carry on because we love Archie and we refuse to give up on him.” After High Court judge Lucy Theis rejected the family’s request on Friday morning, Archie’s parents asked the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the decision. When that court refused to take the case late in the day, they asked the European Court of Human Rights to intervene. It was not immediately clear whether the ECtHR would take up the case. He had declined to enter the legal battles earlier this week. Archie’s care has been the subject of weeks of legal arguments as his parents tried to force the Royal London Hospital to continue life-sustaining treatments after doctors argued there was no chance of recovery and he should be allowed to die. The family are seeking to move Archie into a hospice after the courts ruled it was in his best interests to end treatment. The hospital said Archie’s condition was so unstable that moving him would hasten his death. They decided on Friday morning that Archie will have to stay in hospital while the treatment is stopped. “I’m back where I started, recognizing the enormity of what lies ahead for Archie’s parents and family. Their unconditional love and devotion to Archie is a golden thread running through this case, Theis wrote in her ruling. “I hope that Archie can now be given the opportunity to die in peace, with the family that meant so much to him, as he clearly meant to them. The row is the latest UK case to pit doctors’ judgment against families’ wishes. Under British law, it is common for the courts to intervene when parents and doctors disagree about a child’s treatment. In such cases, the best interests of the child override the parents’ right to decide what they believe is best for their children.
