A British court on Wednesday, heard brief evidence on the terminally ill infant, Charlie Gard before adjourning to pending the arrival of a doctor who agreed to supervise end-of-life care at the parents’ home.
The parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, want their 11-month-old son, widely known as Baby Charlie, to be allowed to die at home, but London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital advocates transferring him to a hospice.
Hospice is a place that provides care for people who are dying.
Charlie suffers rare genetic condition called mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome which causes progressive muscle weakness and left him with brain damage and unable to breathe without a ventilator.
Yates and Gard had fought for five months for him to receive experimental treatment in the U.S., but they announced the end of their legal battle on Monday.
On Tuesday, their lawyer had asked the High Court to allow the parents spend their “last precious moments” with their son at home.
Katie Gollop, a lawyer for the hospital, urged the court to approve the transfer of Charlie to a hospice.
However, the parents opposed that plan, saying that it would give them less time to spend with their son.
Gollop said the hospital had “found an excellent hospice, willing to offer assistance that would afford Charlie and his parents the space and privacy necessary to protect them.
Earlier hearings by British and European courts had upheld lower court rulings that the infant’s life support should be ended so that he could die with dignity. (dpa/NAN)
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