Good morning. On 7 April, Archie Battersbee was 12 years old, and uncomplicatedly alive. He was a talented gymnast, and an enthusiastic follower of mixed martial arts, and he wanted to be baptised. He had a pet rabbit called Simian. He was meant to be going to see Batman that evening.
That day, Archie suffered a catastrophic brain injury. In the months since, whether he is alive has been a devastatingly difficult – and contested – question. His parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, say that although he is not conscious he is still alive, and want him to be kept on a ventilator and a feeding tube until he dies a “natural” death.
