The British Supreme Court no longer sees a chance of recovery for twelve-year-old Archie – so life-sustaining measures are to be discontinued today. But the boy’s parents want to keep fighting, now in Strasbourg.
Despite defeats in all instances of the British judiciary, the parents of the terminally ill Archie in England do not want to accept the end of life-sustaining measures. A few hours before the planned shutdown of the devices, the family’s lawyers submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the British news agency PA reported.
One hopes and prays for a positive decision from the court, said Archie’s mother. “We will not give up on Archie to the bitter end.” The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is not an organ of the EU but of the Council of Europe.
The twelve-year-old boy suffered severe brain injuries in a domestic accident in April – possibly during an Internet test of courage. He has been in a coma ever since. The devices that are currently keeping the boy alive at a hospital in east London were supposed to be switched off this Wednesday at 11 a.m. local time (12 p.m. CEST).
It is still unclear whether the family’s lawyers have any chance of success with their application. In the fight for their son’s life, Archie’s parents have failed in all legal instances. The Supreme Court – the highest British court – on Tuesday rejected an application with which the parents wanted to obtain the continuation of life support measures. The Supreme Court justices said that since there was no prospect of true recovery, life support would only “prolong dying.”
The case is reminiscent of similar disputes over terminally ill children in Great Britain. The financially squeezed British health service tends to withdraw life support much sooner than would be the case in Germany. In addition, the wishes of parents and relatives are not taken into account to the same extent. What is in the best interests of the patient is often decided by judges on the recommendation of medical professionals.
