Let little Alfie die
Family’s fury as judge agrees to end life support
THE father of a brain-damaged toddler last night accused a High Court judge of sentencing his son to the death penalty.
Tom Evans vowed he would never give up fighting for 21-month-old Alfie Evans after the judge ruled that a hospital could switch off the little boy’s life support.
Alfie has a ‘relentless and progressive’ neurological condition which has destroyed part of his brain, and he is unable to breathe or swallow on his own.
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool is set to withdraw ventilation on Friday following Mr Justice Anthony Hayden’s decision.
But Mr Evans, 21, and Alfie’s mother Kate James, 20, believe there is a chance their son will survive if he is taken abroad for
‘It’s the death penalty’
treatment. Mr Evans, who wept as the ruling was given in court, said the fight was not over and indicated he would appeal against the decision.
He added: ‘My son has been sentenced to the death penalty with two days to go.
‘This isn’t over. This is just the start. I’m not giving up, my son isn’t giving up.
‘No-one, I repeat, no-one in this country is taking my boy away from me. They are not violating his rights.’ Alfie’s parents, from Liverpool, had hoped to fly their son to the Vatican-linked Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital in Rome for treatment. If that proved unsuccessful they hoped he could be taken for treatment in Hamburg before eventually being permitted to die at home. In an emotional statement outside the court in London, Mr Evans said: ‘My son is two years of age and has been sentenced to the death penalty. How wrong is that? He’s doing brilliant, he’s doing the best he can and they want him dead on Friday. Why do they want him dead so quick?’ Alfie’s neurological condition is so rare that doctors have never seen it before. One even suggested it may eventually be named ‘Alfie’s Disease’. Mr Justice Hayden, who visited Alfie in hospital, said he accepted medical evidence which showed further treatment was futile, adding that he had reached his conclusion with great sadness.
The court heard that experts across the UK and Europe had assessed Alfie, but all were in agreement that treatment was ‘completely futile’.
Mr Justice Hayden praised Mr Evans, who left school at 16 to serve an apprenticeship as a plas- terer, for his commitment to his son. ‘His knowledge of the paperwork and the medical records was prodigious,’ he said. ‘Alfie could have had no more articulate voice on his behalf than his father’s.’
The judge said the most important thing for Alfie was his palliative care, adding: ‘ He requires peace, quiet and privacy in order that he may conclude his life as he has lived it, with dignity.’
Alder Hey hospital said it would work with Alfie’s family to agree the ‘most appropriate’ palliative care plan for him during a ‘very difficult time’.