Even a heart attack suffered by his father did not help the British judges to give more time to Archie , the 12-year-old in a coma whose doctors and courts in the United Kingdom want to pull the plug despite the desperate opposition of the family.
The prospects for recovery for specialists are zero , which is why the London Court of Appeal rejected an extreme parental appeal, after the first and second instance verdicts that on 13 June and 15 July had authorized the end of the assisted ventilation.
Verdicts which, as in other similar cases that occurred in the Kingdom, proved the indications of the doctors right and the requests of the father and mother wrong. And that the appellate judges confirmed again today, refusing to admit the request of family members who asked for a further examination of the merits.
The hope of an awakening for the judges is to be considered "exhausted" and it is " in the interest of the child to shorten the agony " that has lasted for months. However, they have set a 48-hour extension to allow parents to eventually turn to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The panel of judges admitted the anguish of being faced with " a tragedy of immeasurable magnitude ". However, the device was issued in categorical terms and without postponements, despite the fact that the lawyer Edward Devereux had asked at the beginning to update today's hearing by evoking a heart attack suffered in the previous hours by Archie's father, Paul , hospitalized.
Archie Battersbee, a handsome 12-year-old blond boy, was found unconscious at home in Southend, Essex, on April 7 by his mother: he had a rope around his neck , perhaps for a tragic online challenge with friends.
The little boy is waiting unaware of his fate in a room at the Royal London Hospital: in a deep coma, as claimed by the team that takes care of him, according to which an irreversible diagnosis of brain cell death appears "highly probable" from May . But still present in some way, in the unshakeable conviction of dad Paul and mom Hollie, separated for some time, but united in this battle.
