The parents of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard on Tuesday accused a London hospital of preventing their son from coming home to die, the latest harrowing confrontation in a legal battle that has raised emotions far and wide.
Great Ormond Street Hospital’s lawyer told the High Court it had moved “heaven and earth” to allow 11-month-old Charlie to go home, but this was impossible for practical reasons.
The judge said transferring Charlie to a hospice for his last moments — a move supported by the hospital — appeared the most realistic option.
The plight of Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition causing progressive brain damage and muscle weakness, has been at the centre of a bitter dispute between his parents and the hospital.
The case has triggered a debate on social media and in the press about whether doctors, judges or parents should decide a child’s fate. U.S. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis are among many people who have weighed in with views.
Staff at Great Ormond Street, a hospital so revered in Britain that it was featured in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, have received death threats and abuse.
“Emotions are as high in this case as they could be in any,” said the presiding judge, Nicholas Francis.
He gave Charlie’s legal team until Wednesday to see if they could find an intensive care team willing to look after Charlie at his home or at a hospice for several days, in accordance with the parents’ wishes.
He however said he would give his ruling on Wednesday on where the terminally ill baby should be allowed to die.
“I will make my final decision tomorrow unless something completely new comes up,” Nicholas Francis said at the end of a hearing at the High Court in London. A court hearing is scheduled at 1300 GMT on Wednesday.
Eleven-month-old Charlie has been the subject of a bitter dispute between his parents and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
The parents want to bring their son home to die, but the hospital has said that was not possible for practical reasons. It has proposed that Charlie be transferred to a hospice instead.
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