Against all odds, little 23-month-old Alfie Evans affected by degenerative brain disease, he has been breathing on his own for almost three days after his life support was removed at the Halder Hey in Liverpool, where he remains admitted.
The doctors argue that there is no hope of cure for the child and also argued that he would survive a few minutes by removing the respirator, but has left everyone amazed with his desire to cling to life. The parents have tried to take him to Italy, but the judges have prevented him, and the question we ask ourselves is Why can't parents decide where they want their child to be treated?
"He is surviving by himself"
Parents have been denied up to three times the possibility of moving their baby to Rome, to the Bambino Gesù hospital run by the Vatican, where could continue to receive treatment. there was a medicalized plane at your disposal ready to take it, but it has not been possible.
Both the British Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation have refused to reconsider the case. The British justice considers that the case is irreversible and that keeping the baby connected to life support would cause him unnecessary suffering. His parents, on the contrary, ensure your baby is not suffering since the respirator was removed.
"Alfie has shown that you, the doctors, were wrong," said the father to the media."It is not a miracle, but an error in the diagnosis," says his father Tom Evans. "Alfie is a warrior and is surviving by himself. He is awake and, occasionally, we give him oxygen with a bottle and a mask." He also suggested that Alfie could live for "months, possibly years."
A few hours ago his mother shared a video stroking and singing to her baby in her arms on her Facebook profile:
They will try to take it home
At the hospital, he no longer receives any treatment, except for the oxygen that is occasionally supplied.
Today parents meet with doctors to allow them to take their child home and so say goodbye to him in privacy. If the meeting is not going well, they have announced that they will return to the Court to continue fighting.
Other similar cases
In addition to Alfie's, there are two other similar cases in the United Kingdom. One is from Charlie Gard, a 10-month-old baby affected by a rare disease, who died in 2017 after a court ruled that it was better for the child to have his respirator disconnected. His parents tried to take him to the United States for experimental treatment, but they were also denied.
The other is that of Aysha king, a case with a happy ending in which the parents were right. The boy, with a brain tumor, was taken without permission from a British hospital in 2014 and the parents were arrested for kidnapping. After two days imprisoned, the British Prosecutor's Office withdrew the complaint and the parents managed to move the child to Prague, where he received an alternative treatment. He has survived, and three years later he has freed himself from cancer.
All this has reopened the debate on who has the right to decide on the treatment of a sick child. Why is the decision of the judges or doctors, above that of their parents? Can you consider a "whim" of parents trying everything to keep their child alive?
They ask that parents have the right to decide
He British MEP Steven Woolfe He has just announced that he has launched the 'Alfie Law' campaign that he intends change the rules to allow parents to make informed decisions about the care and treatment of their sick child.
He appealed to the deputies to allow time for this matter in the House, so that parents are not caught by long and delaying legal challenges in the future.
"While we recognize the skill and dedication of medical professionals in the United Kingdom, we defend the moral rights of parents: and their children: to make informed decisions about their care and treatment. "
"The rights of parents should not be ignored or dismissed by hospitals and courts, who believe they know better and have the power, money and resources to overwhelm families who simply want to save their child."
"We demand a change in the law to restore the rights of parents in such decisions. All parents should be allowed an independent advocate to defend their case with adequate legal and medical experience and financial equality of arms.
It seems that Alfie will not have a better chance of survival, unless doctors are wrong, as parents suggest. However, thanks to him, things change and the laws in the United Kingdom are revised so that other children may have a second chance.
