The High Court in London has rejected the parents’ application because a transfer is too risky. The devices that keep the terminally ill boy alive are to be switched off soon.
Contrary to his parents’ wishes, the terminally ill Archie cannot be placed in a hospice in England to die. The High Court in London rejected an application by the parents of the 12-year-old in view of the risks of a transfer on Friday. It was in Archie’s best interest that life support be removed at the hospital rather than in another setting, the judge said. In theory, the Court of Appeal can still be involved.
The equipment keeping the boy alive at a London hospital should continue to run until at least 2 p.m. local time on Friday. The clinic had previously announced several times that it would switch off the devices, but this moment was delayed again and again due to the long legal dispute over Archie’s fate. Archie has been in a coma since April. He suffered serious brain injuries in an accident at home in Southend-on-Sea, possibly during an internet dare. The treating doctors see no chance of recovery.
The UK’s highest court had backed the doctors’ decision to let Archie die. It is in the boy’s best interest. A last appeal by the parents to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was unsuccessful this week. Archie’s parents then tried to secure his transfer to a hospice so that their son could spend his final hours in a quieter, more peaceful environment. However, the hospital refused: “Archie is in such an unstable condition that there is a significant risk even if he is turned inside his hospital bed, which must be done as part of his ongoing care,” the hospital operator said. A transfer by ambulance to a completely different area would therefore most likely worsen his condition rapidly.