U.K. parents drop legal fight, agree to let baby Charlie die

LONDON — The parents of Charlie Gard, whose battle to get their critically ill baby experimental treatment stirred international controversy, dropped their legal effort Monday, saying tearfully that it was time to let their son die.

At an emotional court hearing, a lawyer for the baby’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, said the couple was withdrawing a bid to have Charlie sent to the United States, where a doctor had offered to try to treat his rare genetic condition.

The decision came after new medical tests showed the 11-month-old, who has brain damage and cannot breathe unaided, had irreversible muscular damage.

Both parents wept in the packed courtroom at the High Court in London as lawyer Grant Armstrong made the announcement, his voice breaking. “This case is now about time,” Armstrong said. “Sadly, time has run out.”

Chris Gard said Charlie “won’t make his first birthday in just under two weeks’ time.”

Gard and Yates, who are in their 30s and from London, have fought ferociously for their son, who was born in August 2016 with mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a rare genetic disease.

The baby has been treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals. Doctors there say Charlie is in pain and further treatment would only increase his suffering. They have sought permission from the courts to switch off his life support and allow him to die peacefully. His parents have resisted, arguing that an experimental treatment could extend and improve Charlie’s life.

The case gained international attention after Charlie’s parents received support from Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump.