Parents to fight on as medics told they can let baby die
THE parents of a baby boy have been told by a judge their son is brain dead and doctors treating him can withdraw life support.
Four-month-old Midrar Ali was starved of oxygen due to complications at birth and, although his heart was restarted, he has been on a ventilator ever since.
St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester asked the High Court to allow ventilation to be withdrawn to allow him a ‘kind and dignified death’. Its lawyers told a hearing that three tests confirmed his brain stem had died and an independent consultant had concluded Midrar had no prospect of recovery and would never regain consciousness.
But the boy’s father, Karwan Ali, 35, a biomedical scientist, and his mother, Shokhan Namiq, 28, disagreed, saying they believed
Midrar’s brain was continuing to function and wanted the treatment to continue.
Yesterday, Mrs Justice Lieven backed the doctors’ opinion, saying that ‘sadly’ she had ‘no doubt that Midrar is brain stem dead’.
‘The medical evidence is both clear and consistent,’ the judge added.
She said that, while it was ‘perfectly understandable’ his parents ‘cling to hope’ by pointing out their son still made movements, doctors had concluded the ‘obvious’ reason for these was spinal reflexes.
Mr Ali, from Manchester, pledged to take the case to appeal, saying: ‘Everything about this has been one-sided right from the start. We weren’t allowed to have our own medical expert and I was only given 30 minutes to speak.
‘I will never give up. We’ve seen signs of life and Midrar is still growing. How can they say it’s in his best interests to allow him to die?’
The couple’s lawyers argued the baby boy’s eyes opened after he was circumcised recently. But doctors explained it was an involuntary nerve reaction because the brain was no longer capable of sending signals to the body.
The judge praised the ‘love and commitment’ felt by both parents to Midrar which ‘cannot be in any doubt’.
‘ However, his [ Mr Ali’s] desire to cling on to any hope does appear to have led him to interpret material in the way he wanted rather than at times listening to the evidence,’ Mrs Justice Lieven said.
The facts of the case were ‘tragic’, she said, adding that ‘one can only have the greatest sympathy for what the parents are going through’.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs St Mary’s Hospital, said: ‘Our thoughts remain with the baby Midrar and his family at this very difficult time.’
A spokesman added it would ensure his family were supported in what were ‘incredibly sad circumstances’.
‘We’ve seen signs of life’