The European Court of Human Rights Just Sentenced a 10 Month Old Baby to Death

And his name is Charlie Gard...
a 10 month old boy that you've probably never heard of, but definitely will in the near future as the story makes its way around.

The above photo is of Charlie, a 10 month old that suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, a mitochondrial disease that destroys the muscles and the brain.

Unfortunately for Charlie, there is currently no available treatment in the United Kingdom for this disease. Because of this, Charlie's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, raised enough money to fly their son to the United States for an experimental treatment that could potentially save his life. This was no small feat... the two managed to raise over $1.6M. $1.6 Million dollars from donors that wanted to see this baby have a shot at life. There's just one problem- the hospital is betting against them.

The hospital, the very place that is supposed to be doing everything they can to save this child's life, has argued that despite the treatment showing progress for the few children throughout the United States and the world that have been diagnosed with such a disease, they should not allow the parents to take their child to another country to be cared for. Instead, the have lobbied the court to remove the child from life support so he could "die with dignity."

Imagine that. Imagine taking your child to a hospital for care, and them telling you that not only are you not allowed to take the child somewhere else for care, but that they are going to remove him from life support. And the UK courts agreed. They agreed that it was in the child's best interest to die and ruled as such.

After hearing that the courts in the UK agreed, Chris and Connie appealed to the EU. Well... the verdict is in, and the EU also agrees, stating "Charlie would suffer significant harm if his present suffering was prolonged without any realistic prospect of improvement, and the experimental therapy would be of no effective benefit."

Upon hearing of the news, the hospital released a statement of their own:

"Our thoughts are with Charlie’s parents on receipt of this news that we know will be very distressing for them. Today’s decision by the European Court of Human Rights marks the end of what has been a very difficult process and our priority is to provide every possible support to Charlie’s parents as we prepare for the next steps."

To add insult to injury, the hospital declared that they would be removing the child from life support this Friday. Charlie's parents took to the media to respond-

We begged them to give us the weekend. Friends and family wanted to come and see Charlie for the last time. But now there isn’t even time for that. Doctors said they would not rush to turn off his ventilator but we are being rushed. Not only are we not allowed to take our son to an expert hospital to save his life, we also can’t choose how or when our son dies.

I can't imagine what the parents are going through... to be told that the government is taking control of whether or not your son lives or dies, and choosing that he dies. I can't imagine.

Now that the EU as spoken, I don't think there's anything left that can be done. For Charlie and his parents, there's but hours remaining for last hugs, last kisses, and final wishes. Just hours, before Charlie's sentence is carried out.

Update for sources:
For official Press Release
For official Case View