Archie Battersbee, a 12-year-old boy who had been in a coma for four months, has died in a London hospital after doctors ended the life-saving treatment his family had fought to continue.
Key points:
- Doctors concluded that Archie was brainstem dead and tried to end the treatments that were keeping him alive, including artificial respiration.
- But his family argued that he had shown signs of life and would not have wanted them to lose hope
- A series of courts decided it was in Archie’s best interests to be allowed to die
The boy’s mother, Hollie Dance, said her son died at 12:15 a.m. Saturday, about two hours after the hospital began withdrawing treatment.
British courts had rejected both the family’s effort to extend treatment and a request to move Archie to a hospice, saying neither was in the child’s best interests.
“I’m the proudest mum in the world,” Ms Dance said as she stood outside the hospital in tears.
“Such a beautiful boy and he fought to the end.”
The legal battle is the latest in a series of highly publicized British cases in which parents and doctors have argued over who is better qualified to make decisions about a child’s medical care.
This has led to a debate about whether there is a more appropriate way to resolve such disagreements out of court.
Weeks of legal arguments
Archie was found unconscious at home with a bandage on his head on April 7.
His parents believe he may have taken part in an online challenge gone wrong.
Doctors concluded that Archie was brain-stem dead shortly after the accident and tried to end the long list of treatments that kept him alive, including artificial respiration, drugs to regulate his body functions and nursing care 24 hours a day.
But his family objected, claiming that Archie had shown signs of life and would not have wanted him to stop waiting.
Hollie Dance, pictured last week, says Archie was ‘a beautiful boy’ (PA via AP: James Manning)
The disagreement sparked weeks of legal arguments as Archie’s parents tried to force the hospital to continue life-saving treatments.
Doctors at the Royal London Hospital argued that there was no chance of recovery and that he should be left to die.
The court rules that the boy can die
After a series of courts ruled that it was in Archie’s best interests to be allowed to die, the family asked for permission to move him to a hospice.
The hospital said Archie’s condition was so unstable that moving him would hasten his death.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge Lucy Theis rejected the family’s request, ruling that Archie remain in hospital while treatment is withdrawn.
“Her unconditional love and dedication to Archie is a golden thread that runs through this case,” she wrote in her decision.
“I hope that Archie can now have the opportunity to die in peaceful circumstances, with the family that meant as much to him as he clearly does to them.”
That ruling came on Saturday after both the UK Court of Appeal and the European Court of Human Rights refused to take up the case.
The family describes the child’s death as “barbaric”
Archie’s family said his death was anything but peaceful.
Ella Carter, girlfriend of Archie’s older brother Tom, said Archie remained stable for about two hours after the hospital stopped all medication.
That changed when the ventilator was turned off, he said.
“He turned completely blue,” she said. “There is absolutely nothing dignified in watching a family member or child suffocate.
“No family should ever have to go through what we went through. It’s barbaric.”
Mrs. Carter laid her head on Mrs. Dance’s shoulder and cried as the two women embraced.
Hollie Dance, second from left, and her supporters speak to reporters after her son’s death. (PA via AP: Aaron Chown)
The hospital expressed its condolences and thanked the doctors and nurses who had cared for Archie.
“They provided high-quality care with extraordinary compassion over several months in often difficult and distressing circumstances,” said Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital.
“This tragic case not only affected the family and their caregivers, but touched the hearts of many across the country.”
When doctors and parents disagree
Legal experts insist cases like Archie’s are rare.
But some disputes pitting doctors’ judgment against families’ wishes have been fought out in the public eye, such as the 2017 legal battle over Charlie Gard, a baby with a rare genetic disorder.
The parents fought unsuccessfully for him to have an experimental treatment before he died.
Under British law, it is common for the courts to intervene when parents and doctors disagree about a child’s medical treatment.
The best interests of the child take precedence over the parents’ right to decide what they think is best.
Call for a consultation
Ilora Finlay, a professor of palliative medicine at Cardiff University and a member of the House of Lords, said this week that she hoped the Conservative government would carry out an independent inquiry into different ways of dealing with such cases.
Deciding these disputes through an adversarial court process doesn’t help anyone, he said.
“Parents don’t want to go to court. Doctors don’t want to go to court. Managers don’t want to go to court,” Professor Finlay told Times Radio.
“My concern is that these cases are going to court too quickly and too soon, and that we need an alternative way to handle communication between doctors and parents.”
The difficulty for parents is that they are in shock and often want to deny that there has been a catastrophic brain injury, Professor Finlay said.
“When there’s a brain injury, often your child looks intact, so their face looks like it always did,” she said.
“So understanding what has happened inside the brain and the amount of damage is something that needs to be explained sensitively to parents, and that takes time.”
Archie’s family received support from Christian Concern, which campaigns on end-of-life issues and the role of religion in society.
The group said it was a “privilege” to be with the family.
“The events of the last few weeks raise many important questions, including questions about how death is defined, how those decisions are made and the place of the family,” said Christian Concern chief executive Andrea Williams.
AP