Written by: Nancy Flanders
Article source: www.liveaction.org
Archie Battersbee’s parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee have won their appeal to keep their son on life support. The Court of Appeal ruled recently that the evidence should be reconsidered by a different judge in the family division of the High Court of London. The court said it would give its reasons for its decision at a later date.
“We’re delighted,” said Dance. “We wanted another hearing and we’ve got everything we wanted.”
Paul Battersbee added, “Delighted. It couldn’t really have gone any better today.”
Another hearing is now set for July 11 and Archie’s case will be heard by Mr. Justice Hayden.
June 26, 2022: Last week, a High Court judge ruled that doctors could stop treating 12-year-old Archie Battersbee against his parents’ wishes after doctors at the Royal London Hospital declared him to be “brain-stem dead.” The parents learned about the decision through an email while preparing to go to court. Now, attorneys for his family say they expect the Court of Appeal judges to consider the case next week.
Archie was found unconscious in his home by his mother on April 7 with a ligature around his chin and head, close to the windpipe. His mother believes he may have been participating in an online challenge and has learned that three minutes went by before she found him. Archie has been in a coma ever since and doctors at the hospital think his ventilator should be removed.
A specialist who has reportedly not been named told the judge that the lower part of Archie’s brainstem is significantly damaged and the upper part is also damaged. He claims Archie’s prognosis is “very grave” and that he has a “very low” chance of recovery.
However, Archie’s parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee say that his heart is still beating and they want him to continue to receive treatments. Their attorney said that the evidence has not shown “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Archie is dead, and that a decision of such “gravity” should not be made when there is reasonable doubt.
Dance, meanwhile, has said she has seen signs that her son could recover. Video shows Archie grasping her fingers.
Dance also noted that Archie’s case has been reviewed by U.S.-based doctor, Dr. Alan Shewmon, who said his condition is reversible. Archie holds his own temperature and blood pressure and has opened his eyes.
“There is no diagnostic protocol for either ‘brain death’ or ‘brainstem death’ that enjoys zero risk of false-positive error – declaring a live patient dead,” Dr. Shewmon told Mrs. Justice Arbuthnot. “The only absolutely sure diagnostic criterion for death is the permanent and irreversible absence of circulation.”
Dance told ITV’s Good Morning Britain, “I don’t think I’m just fooling myself. I’m quite honest. What I do know is as a mother, my gut feeling tells me my little boy is in there and I will continue to fight for him. I’m begging the judge to give him time.”
She said that Archie had squeezed her hand and it gave her hope. “Of course, he’s not jumping up and boxing and shouting out and doing his gymnastics off the bed. I don’t expect that. But the fact that he is doing these little things is progress.”
She also told Good Morning Britain that Archie has a brother and sister and that her boys are very close. Her older son would “talk to Archie when he was in my womb. Tommy’s the first voice that Archie recognized.”
On June 13, Mrs. Justice Arbuthnot wrote, “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.”
His family asked the judge to allow them to appeal her ruling should they prove an arguable case and she has given them the green light to do so.
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Feature image: Archie’s brother Tom Summers kisses him on the head in hospital.
Date published: 01/07/2022
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