Parents lose appeal over care of baby

ACOUPLE who say doctors should keep providing lifesupport treatment to their brain-damaged baby have called for a review of the law after losing another legal battle.

Karwan Ali, 35, and Shokhan Namiq, 28, had appealed after a High Court judge concluded that their son, Midrar, was brain stem dead and said doctors could lawfully stop treating him.

But three Court of Appeal judges dismissed their challenge and declared that Midrar died in October, when he would have been 14 days old.

A lawyer representing the couple, who live in Manchester, said they did not think that Midrar’s condition was necessarily “irreversible” and wanted a law review.

He said the couple thought differing views of foreign experts relating to factors which confirm death should be taken into account.

Mr Ali described the appeal judges’ decision as “terrible”.

Mrs Justice Lieven had initially analysed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester in January. She concluded that Midrar was brain stem dead and ruled that life-support treatment could lawfully end.

Midrar’s parents wanted treatment to continue and had asked appeal judges to overturn Mrs Justice Lieven’s ruling.

Mr Ali said doctors could not be “100% sure” that Midrar was dead and said Midrar was still growing.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, Lord Justice Patten and Lady Justice King upheld Mrs Justice Lieven’s ruling on Wednesday and said medics could lawfully “cease to mechanically ventilate” Midrar.