Final hope for Charlie Gard today as European judges deliberate over tragic case after parents lose Supreme Court bid to keep him alive
THE parents of terminally ill tot Charlie Gard will today find out if their final hope of keeping their son alive has failed.
The couple – who want to take their son to the US for treatment – hope European judges will come to their aid after losing their Supreme Court legal challenge yesterday.
Chris Gard and Connie Yates are praying judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, will consider their case.
Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where Charlie is being cared for, say therapy proposed by a doctor in America is experimental and will not help with his rare genetic condition.
They say the ten-month-old tot’s life support should be switched off and he should be allowed to die – and courts in the UK have agreed with them.
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A High Court judge in April ruled against a trip to America and in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors.
Mr Justice Francis concluded that life support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.
Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May and three Supreme Court justices on yesterday also dismissed the couple's latest challenge after a hearing.
But Supreme Court justices said doctors should continue treating Charlie until 5pm today to give judges in Strasbourg time to look at arguments in the case.
Charlie’s distraught mum screamed as Supreme Court justices announced their decision.
Mr Justice Francis had made a ruling on April 11 after a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
He heard that Charlie, who was born on August 4 last year, had a form of mitochondrial disease – a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.
Charlie's parents, who are in their 30s and come from Bedfont, West London, have appealed for money on a GoFundMe page to cover doctors' bills in America.
They reached a £1.2million target before the High Court trial.
People are continuing to donate and the fund has now topped £1.3million.
Mr Justice Francis said Great Ormond Street doctors had considered the experimental treatment, but decided it would not help Charlie.
He said the case had never been ''about money''.
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