2023-11-13 16:38:02
LONDON (AP) — A terminally ill baby at the center of a legal battle involving her parents, British health officials and the Italian government has died, a group supporting her family said Monday.
Christian Concern said Indi Gregory died in hospice on Monday morning following being taken off life support on Sunday.
The eight-month-old baby had brain damage as a result of a rare condition known as mitochondrial disease.
His doctors said he should be taken off life support to allow him to die in a hospital or hospice. His parents, Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, sought to maintain life support in the hope that experimental treatments might prolong her life. The Italian government had requested permission for the girl to be treated at the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome and even granted the baby Italian citizenship.
Doctors argued that Indi was unaware of her surroundings, was suffering, and should be allowed to die peacefully. British judges rejected repeated legal attempts, backed by Christian Concern.
In a statement early Monday, the baby’s father bitterly criticized the courts for refusing even to let her die at home.
“Claire and I are angry, heartbroken and ashamed,” Gregory said. “They managed to take her body and her dignity from Indi, but they will never be able to take her soul away.”
The case is the latest in a series of legal disputes in the United Kingdom between parents and doctors over the treatment of terminally ill children. British judges have repeatedly sided with doctors, even if parents object to the proposed treatment.
On Friday, Court of Appeal Judge Peter Jackson said doctors caring for Indi and other critically ill children had been put in an “extremely challenging” position by the legal dispute and condemned what he described as “manipulative litigation tactics.” designed to thwart orders made by judges following careful consideration.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her condolences in a social media post: “We did everything we might, everything possible. Unfortunately it was not enough.”
1699894126
#British #baby #dies #terminal #illness #center #legal #battle
