Mum Says Archie Battersbee Is 'Still With Us' As Urgent Appeal Made To Supreme Court
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Archie Battersbee's mum Hollie Dance has said her son is 'still with us' as an urgent appeal has been made to the Supreme Court.
Doctors had previously said they would begin to withdraw treatment from 12pm today (2 August), but since the application has been filed, they must wait for the direction from the Supreme Court.
The 12-year-old's life support was scheduled to be switched off today after the High Court concluded that his case was not bound by the UN treaty.
This meant that his life support whilst at the Royal London Hospital could be legally switched off, according to ITV News.
However, the decision is now with the Supreme Court, who will decide whether to prolong his treatment or not.
Archie's mother said: “We are having to battle over every decision with the hospital. There is nothing dignified in how we are being treated as a family in this situation.
“We do not understand what the rush is and why all of our wishes are being denied. I know Archie’s still with us. Archie’s showing very different signs to what the clinicians are actually putting over to the courts.
“He’s very much there, he’s progressing in so many ways. We pray for an encouraging response from the Supreme Court.”
Archie has been in a coma since April after he was found unconscious at his family home after apparently taking part in an online challenge.
Doctors at the Royal London hospital told the High Court that he was 'brain stem' dead.
They argued that it was not in his best interests to keep him on life support, with an anonymous specialist stating that he had 'significant areas of tissue necrosis'.
Ella Carter, a family friend, said that while his family knew that he had suffered a 'catastrophic' injury, a 'natural' death would be easier to process – although they were praying for a miracle, BBC News reports.
A last-minute hearing was held yesterday (1 August), where Archie's parents argued that he should be given a 'realistic time' to recover.
The hearing came after judges at the Appeal Court agreed that doctors at the Royal London Hospital should withdraw the life support that has kept Archie alive since 7 April.
Yesterday's hearing took place after his parents reached out to the United Nations for assistance, arguing that it would be a 'flagrant breach of international law'.
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (UNRPD) subsequently issued an injunction to prevent Archie's life support being switched off.
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As reported by the BBC, Archie's mother, Hollie Dance, argued that the decision should have been left to his parents and not the courts or the hospital.
She told BBC Radio 4: "I think this sort of decision should be made by the parents – we've got parental responsibility for a reason."
Hollie argued that there was evidence that her son was improving, despite the doctor's prognosis, and said that he should be given six months to recover.
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