Terminally ill boy’s parents say they’ll work with U.K. doctors

LONDON — The father of terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans said Thursday that he would work with doctors to give his son “dignity and comfort,” as he called for a truce in a divisive case that has pitted doctors and the British courts against Alfie’s parents, Christian groups and the pope.

Tom Evans, 21, appealed for privacy “for everyone concerned,” saying he would no longer make statements about the case.

“Our lives have been turned upside down by the intense focus on Alfie and his situation,” Evans said outside Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital, where Alfie has been treated for more than a year.

The 23-month-old boy has an incurable degenerative neurological condition. British doctors say further treatment is futile and he should be allowed to die. His parents have fought for months to take him to Italy, where he would be kept on life support.

The hospital withdrew Alfie’s life support Monday after a series of court rulings sided with the doctors and blocked further medical treatment. Doctors say it is hard to estimate how long Alfie will live without life support, but that there is no chance he will get better.

The long legal battle between Alfie’s parents, backed by a Christian pressure group, and his doctors has drawn international attention. Officials in largely Catholic Poland and Italy have implicitly criticized Britain’s courts and staterun National Health Service on the case.

Tom Evans said he and Alfie’s mother, Kate James, 20, “are very grateful and we appreciate all the support we have received from around the world.”