The family of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee have pledged to “fight” to get him moved to a hospice, insisting they should be allowed to choose where he spends “his last moments”. Following the rejection by the European Court of Human Rights of their last-ditch bid to postpone the withdrawal of his life support, the family now intends to file an application to the High Court in London to transfer him out of the Royal London Hospital.
The boy’s mother, Hollie Dance, said she felt “absolutely deflated” after the decision on Wednesday evening by the European court not to intervene in the case. A family spokeswoman told the PA news agency that Barts Health NHS Trust said Archie’s life support will be withdrawn at 11am on Thursday unless a legal application regarding the hospice move is submitted by 9am.
She confirmed the family intend to submit such an application, describing it as “completely barbaric and absolutely disgusting that we’re not even allowed to choose where Archie takes his last moments”. The child has been in a coma since he was found unconscious in April and is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the hospital in Whitechapel, east London.
