Alfie, British tot in life support feud, dies

ALFIE EVANS, a British toddler with a degenerative brain condition whose parents lost a legal battle to keep him on life support at a Vatican hospital, was mourned with balloons set free in the sky and prayers from the Pope after he died Saturday weeks shy of his second birthday.

Kate James and Tom Evans said their son’s death overnight in Liverpool, England, had left them “heartbroken.” Alfie’s condition left him with almost no brain function, and multiple courts ruled that keeping him alive was not in his best interests before doctors removed his ventilator five days ago.

“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30,” Evans, 21, wrote in a Facebook post decorated with a broken heart and crying emojis.

As news spread, dozens of people laid flowers and mementos in a park near Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where Alfie (photo) was treated. About 1,000 people gathered 12 hours after the boy died to release blue and purple balloons in solidarity with the grieving mother and father who had struggled to come to terms with their child’s terminal illness.

Alfie’s case sparked a medical ethics debate that resonated far beyond Britain. Doctors overseeing his care said further treatment was futile and he should be allowed to die. But his parents fought for months to try to convince judges to allow them to take him to the Vatican’s children’s hospital, where life support would have been maintained.