Baby to die in hospice as parents unable to take him home

London: A British judge has given the parents of Charlie Gard until noon on Thursday to finalise arrangements for his death with the hospital caring for him, failing which he would be transferred to a hospice where his ventilation tube would be removed.

The 11-month-old baby, who suffers from an extremely rare genetic condition causing progressive brain damage and muscle weakness, has been the subject of a bitter dispute between his parents and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

The case has triggered a heated international debate in the press and on social media about who should decide a child’s fate, and has drawn comments from US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis. Having reluctantly taken the decision over the weekend to let Charlie die, his parents have been making desperate attempts to make an arrangement that would make it possible for them to spend several days with him away from hospital.

At stake in this final, agonising part of the legal dispute is how long Connie Yates and Chris Gard will have with their son before he dies. The parents tried for several days to gain permission to take their son home, but as Wednesday’s court hearing progressed it became clear that would not happen because the logistical problems were insurmountable.

Nicholas Francis, the judge presiding over the case, said Charlie’s mother and father now accepted the only options for their son were “the hospital or the hospice”.

The parents had made clear that if they could not take Charlie home, they would prefer him to die in a hospice rather than in the hospital, where he has spent most of his life.

But a lawyer for Charlie’s court-appointed guardian told the court that no hospice could provide care for intensively ventilated children for a long time, so the parents’ wish to spend several days with him could not be fulfilled.