Terminally ill baby in England is not allowed to die at home The past twelve months have been the warmest in 125,000 years

According to a court ruling, a terminally ill baby may not die at home. The appeal court in London ruled that life support measures for the eight-month-old girl in a clinic or hospice should be ended, British media reported on Saturday. The child suffers from a condition called mitochondriopathy, a genetic disease that affects the nervous system and muscles and drains the body of energy.

A court had previously ruled against the parents’ wishes that little Indi no longer needed life-support measures. According to doctors in Nottingham, the treatment is pointless and painful for the child. A request to take little Indi to Italy for further treatment was also rejected. The parents also failed before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Judge Rupert Jackson said the girl, who was born in February, had been on a ventilator since early September. The treatment causes Indi ‘significant pain’ every day. She shows no interaction with her environment.

The case is reminiscent of similar disputes involving terminally ill children. The legal debate surrounding twelve-year-old Archie, who suffered serious brain damage in a domestic accident, caused a particular stir. The boy, who was subsequently brain dead, had his devices turned off in August 2022 after the Supreme Court ruled against the parents’ wishes.

In Britain, judges often decide what is in the best interests of the patient, based on the recommendation of medical professionals. The NHS, which is under severe financial pressure, tends to withdraw life-prolonging measures much earlier than would be the case in Germany, for example. There are sometimes more conflicts when sick people or family members want to turn off devices of their own free will. (saw/sda/dpa)