Charlie Gard’s Parents Abandon Legal Fight: ‘The Hardest Thing That We’ll Ever Have to Do’
“We are now going to spend our last precious moments with our son” – father of terminally-ill Charlie Gard https://t.co/w9iKxj2X3k pic.twitter.com/aFrvW9cEnm
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 24, 2017
The parents of Charlie Gard — the severely ill British infant who has been the subject of a months-long legal battle which has gotten international attention — are abandoning their efforts to seek out experimental treatment to prolong their son’s life.
In a news conference Monday, Chris Gard, Charlie’s father, said that doctors from the U.S. and Italy who were willing to administer experimental treatment on the child now say that it’s too late for such a course of action to be effective.
“A whole lot of time has been wasted,” Chris Gard said. He added, “This is one of the hardest things ever to have to say. And we are about to do the hardest thing that we’ll have to do, to let our beautiful Charlie go.”
Charlie Gard was born with mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, only the 16th child ever born with the condition. The condition causes muscle weakness and brain damage. Among other symptoms, Charlie Gard has no vision or hearing, nor can he swallow.
Doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital wanted to turn the child’s ventilator off, against the wishes of his parents. This resulted in a lengthy legal battle which gained international attention after President Donald Trump and Pope Francis offered statements supporting Charlie Gard’s parents.
If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017
Watch above, via the BBC.
[featured image via screengrab]
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