A judge today ruled a 12-year-old boy’s life-support should be switched off following a treatment legal dispute at the High Court.
Archie Battersbee, is currently on life-support at the Royal London Hospital in East London. However, doctors caring for the child say he is “brain-stem dead” and he should be disconnected from a ventilator.
Archie’s parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, said the youngster’s heart is still beating and have fought hard for treatment to continue. Today, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot ruled Archie was dead and said NHS staff could lawfully stop treating him.
Justice Arbuthnot said: “I find that Archie died at noon on May 31 2022, which was shortly after the MRI scans taken that day.
“I find that irreversible cessation of brain stem function has been conclusively established.
“I give permission to the medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital to cease to ventilate mechanically Archie Battersbee.”
Lawyers for Royal London Hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked Mrs Justice Arbuthnot to decide what moves are in Archie’s best interests.
Justice Arbuthnot had recently oversaw a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London, according to Mirror Online.
The judge heard that Archie suffered brain damage in an incident at his Southend, Essex, home in early April.
Ms Dance told how she found him unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7 and thinks he might have been taking part in an online TikTok challenge.
The youngster has not regained consciousness since that time. Lawyers representing Archie’s family have told the judge that his heart is still beating. His mother also said he had gripped her hand at one point.
Ms Dance said, after the ruling, in a statement outside the court: “I am devastated and extremely disappointed by the judge’s ruling after weeks of fighting a legal battle when I wanted to be at my little boy’s bedside.
“Basing this judgment on an MRI test and that he is ‘likely’ to be dead, is not good enough. This is believed to be the first time that someone has been declared ‘likely’ to be dead based on an MRI test.
“The medical expert opinion presented in court was clear in that the whole concept of ‘brain death’ is now discredited, and in any event, Archie cannot be reliably diagnosed as brain-dead.”
She choked back tears as she continued: “I feel sickened that the hospital and the judge have failed to take the wishes of the family into consideration. I do not believe Archie has been given enough time. From the beginning I have always thought ‘why the rush?’
“His heart is still beating, he has gripped my hand, and as his mother, I know he is still in there. Until it’s God’s way I won’t accept he should go. I know of miracles when people have come back from being brain dead.
“This case raises the significant moral, legal and medical questions as to when a person is dead. What does this ruling today tell us about where our society is at? We intend to appeal and will not give up on Archie.”
David Foster of Moore Barlow acted on behalf of the parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, at the trial. He said: “This is tragic case, where Archie was found by his mother after an accident in the family home, and shows that diagnosing death is not necessarily as straight-forward as one might think. I do believe the law needs to change so that death must be proved beyond all reasonable doubt, rather than simply on the balance of probabilities.
Further, when ethics committees in hospitals need to make difficult decisions over treatment and best interests, they should proactively seek the advice of experienced ethicists that share, or have a deep understanding of, the beliefs and values of the patient, such as a Christian in this case.
Archie’s mother, Hollie has confirmed that an appeal will be made.”
Yesterday, Ms Dance shared a video on Facebook of a priest praying over Archie while surrounded by cuddly toys.
The mum-of-three previously said ahead of the ruling: “It’s devastating. Total strangers are making a decision about whether my son lives or dies.
“It’s so hard as a mother. For 12 years I’ve raised him but now we’ve gone into a hospital you lose your right. It’s awful.”
She added: “I’m devastated, the hospital has had Covid patients in a coma on ventilators for three months, it’s longer than Archie has been in hospital.
“This is my child. I’ve had to become a nurse overnight so I can understand what’s happening to Archie.
“Archie should be treated as a living patient until it can be proven that he’s not.”
A campaign organisation called the Christian Legal Centre is supporting Archie’s family.
Andrea Williams, the centre’s chief executive, said ahead of the ruling: “This case raises the significant moral, legal and medical question as to when a person is dead.
“Archie’s parents do not accept that he is dead and are fighting for his life.
“There is no clear definition of death in English law, and a case like this has never come before an English court before.
“The outcome is crucial for Archie and his family and anyone who cares about the value of life in this country.
“The medical expert opinion presented in court is clear in that the whole concept of ‘brain death’ is now discredited, and in any event, Archie cannot be reliably diagnosed as brain-dead.”
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