Archie Battersbee: Family denied UN appeal but get 24 hours to bid to European Court of Human Rights
The family of Archie Battersbee have been denied permission to take their fight for life-support treatment to the UN - but have won more time to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
The 12-year-old boy from Southend, Essex, has been at the centre of a court battle over ending his life-support treatment.
On Monday, Court of Appeal judges refused an appeal from Archie's parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, after a High Court judge ruled that doctors could lawfully stop treatment.
They were given a set period of time - known as a stay - until 2pm on Wednesday to decide what their next step would be, before arrangements began to take Archie off life support.
On Wednesday, judges agreed to a 24-hour extension to that stay so that they could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights - but not the UN.
The UK abides by regulations linked to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which allows individuals and families to make complaints about violations of rights of disabled people.
A successful appeal to the UN would have allowed it to ask the UK government to delay the switching-off of Archie's life-support, says the charity supporting Archie's family.
They argue that the ECHR has a track record of rejecting applications from parents in end-of-life cases such as Archie's.
The family are now planning an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court on Thursday, in the hope of winning permission to appeal to the UN.
Archie's mother Ms Dance said: “It feels wrong that the Court of Appeal have tried to force us down a road which they know will fail and have taken away our rights of taking the case to the UN.
"All we have asked for from the beginning is for Archie to be given more time and for Archie's wishes and ours to be respected. As long as Archie is alive, I will never give up on him - he is too good to give up on."
Judges were on Monday asked to postpone their ruling after being told that Archie's father had a suspected heart attack shortly before the hearing and gone to hospital.
A family spokesperson said on Wednesday that Paul Battersbee had now left hospital.
A lawyer representing Archie’s parents said his mother thought her son had been trying to breathe independently.
But Sir Andrew said in a detailed ruling on the appeal bid that medical staff had seen “no signs of life” in Archie.
He said the case had received widespread media coverage – including a photograph of Archie - but added: “Archie is no longer the boy in the photograph.”
"He is someone whose every bodily function is now maintained by artificial means.”
Archie suffered “catastrophic” brain damage in an accident at home three months ago.
Lawyers for the family last week argued that Mr Justice Hayden had not given “real or proper weight” to Archie’s previously expressed wishes and religious beliefs, nor given “real or proper weight” to Archie’s family’s wishes.
Barrister Edward Devereux QC also said the judge had failed to carry out a “comprehensive evaluation” of the benefits and burdens of continuing life-support treatment; and had been wrong to conclude that treatment was burdensome and futile.
They were appealing to the Court of Appeal for the decision to be sent back to the High Court for a third time.
Mr Justice Hayden delivered a ruling on 15 July after reviewing evidence at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
He described what happened to Archie as a “tragedy of immeasurable dimensions”, but said medical evidence was “compelling and unanimous” and painted a “bleak” picture.
Mr Justice Hayden heard how Ms Dance found Archie unconscious with a ligature over his head on 7 April. She thinks he may have been taking part in an online challenge.
The youngster has not regained consciousness.
Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, think he is “brain-stem dead” and say continued life support treatment is not in his best interests.
Archie’s parents disagree and say his heart is beating. They are being supported by a campaign group called the Christian Legal Centre.
Lawyers representing the Royal London Hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked for decisions about what medical moves are in Archie’s best interests.
Another High Court judge, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, initially considered the case and concluded, after an earlier hearing, that Archie was dead.
But Court of Appeal judges upheld a challenge by Archie’s parents against decisions taken by Mrs Justice Arbuthnot and said the evidence should be reviewed.
Mr Justice Hayden said evidence shows Archie suffered a “significant injury” to “multiple areas” of his brain and had not “regained awareness at any time”. He said the reality of Archie’s case was “terrible”.
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