Toddler whose parents fought to maintain life support dies

Alfie Evans, a sick British toddler whose parents won support from the pope during a protracted legal battle to take him to the Vatican children’s hospital for treatment, died early Saturday, five days after he was taken off life support.

The parents, Kate James and Tom Evans, announced their 23-month-old son’s death on social media, saying they were “heartbroken.” Alfie had a rare degenerative brain condition that left him with almost no brain function, and multiple courts ruled that keeping him alive was not in his best interests.

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

Alfie’s case sparked a medical ethics debate that resonated far beyond Britain. Doctors overseeing his care in Liverpool, England 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 Vatican hospital, where life support would be maintained.

Pope Francis, who had publicly supported Evans and James’ campaign, wrote condolences that were posted Saturday on Twitter.

“I am deeply moved by the death of little Alfie,” Francis said. “Today I pray especially for his parents, as God the Father receives him in his tender embrace.”