Alfie: judge approves end-of-life plan against parents’ wishes

The English High Court of Justice has approved an end-of-life care plan for Alfie[1]. The 23-month-old boy is in a “semi-vegetative” state and suffering from a neuro-degenerative disease. Last Wednesday, during a hearing in London, Judge Hayden approved the detailed plan presented by doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to switch off Alfie’s life support machine. The little boy’s parents did not attend the hearing.

The child has been at the centre of a “legal battle” for several months. His parents, who want their son to be treated in Italy or Germany, have lost all of their legal battles heard in the Regional Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Judge Hayden declared that he had accepted medical evidence showing that additional treatment would serve no purpose, and judges with the Court of Appeal upheld his decision.

As far back as February, the Judge had suggested that Alfie’s treatment should be stopped “against his parents’ wishes”. Tom Evans and Kate James “filed a complaint on the alleged grounds that the State is wrongly interfering with their parental choice”.

The judge declared that details of the little boy’s end-of-life procedure  “would not be published because Alfie was entitled to respect for private life at this time”.

[1] Alfie Evans: judges decide to switch off life support system

Guardian (11/04/2018)