Time for Alfie’s Law, says MEP seeking rights for parents

An MEP is launching a campaign for “Alfie’s Law” to give parents of terminally-ill children more say in end-of-life hospital care for their sons and daughters.

Steven Woolfe, Member of the European Parliament for North West England, is backing the bid following his support for the family of Alfie Evans.

The 23-month-old, who has a degenerative brain disease, has had life support withdrawn at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

His parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, have opposed withdrawing life support and want to take him abroad for treatment.

An increasingly acrimonious six-month battle with the hospital has seen medical staff allegedly targeted, a mob try to storm the hospital doors, and a series of failed legal tussles in the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

Successive judges have agreed that Alfie has been given “world-class” healthcare by Alder Hey but his brain is so damaged that further treatment is “futile” and it is in his best interests to withdraw life support, against his parent’s wishes.

Mr Woolfe’s campaign is being backed by rightleaning think-tank Parliament Street and launched yesterday outside the Houses of Parliament.

He said: “The cases of Charlie Gard, Aysha King, and now Alfie Evans, show a dangerous trend of public bodies depriving parents and families of the right to make decisions they believe are in the best interests of their children.

“Parents’ rights should neither be ignored nor dismissed as irrelevant by hospitals and courts, who believe they know best and have the power, money and resources to overwhelm families who simply want to save their child. We demand a change in the law to restore the rights of parents in such decisions.”

Picture: PA. Campaigning MEP Steven Woolfe.