Charlie Gard parents drop legal fight

LONDON — The parents of Charlie Gard, whose battle to get their critically ill baby experimental treatment stirred international sympathy and 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 Charlie, 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.”

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

“We are about to do the hardest thing that we will ever have to do, which is to let our beautiful little Charlie go,” he said.

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 said 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 an experimental treatment could extend and improve Charlie’s life.

The case gained international attention after Charlie’s parents received support from Pope Francis, U.S. President Donald Trump and some members of the U.S. Congress.

At its heart, the case pitted the right of parents to decide what’s best for their children against the authorities’ responsibility to uphold the rights of people who can’t speak for themselves.

Under British law, children have rights independent of their parents, and it is usual for courts to intervene when parents and doctors disagree on the treatment of a child.

Passions have often run high, with activists demanding “justice for Charlie” rallying outside the High Court and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Over the weekend, the hospital said it had contacted police after staff received abuse and threats.

Charlie’s parents condemned the abuse, and on Monday thanked the hospital for the care it had given their child.

Yates cried as she told the court she and Charlie’s father had only wanted the best for their son.

“We are so sorry that we couldn’t save you,” she said.