Multiple news outlets out of the U.K.reported Monday morning that Connie Yates and Chris Gard, the parents of 11-month-old Charlie Gard, are giving up their long, public legal battle to bring their terminally ill infant son to the United States for an experimental treatment to save his life.
Charlie Gard’s parents have ended their legal fight over treatment for the critically-ill baby.
Chris Gard and Connie Yates announced their decision as a high court judge was preparing to oversee the latest round of a five-month legal battle.
The news could end a long legal fight between Charlie’s parents and the Great Ormond Street Hospital, which has advocated for removing the little boy from life support after his doctors claimed nothing more could be done to improve his condition. Charlie was born with a rare degenerative disease that causes severe brain damage, and has been on a ventilator since October, although he has remained awake and alert through much of the ordeal.
The Guardian reports the couple made the decision to abandon their legal fight just hours before a judge was set to hear a new round of arguments in their case to bring their son to the U.S., saying new scans show irreversible damage to the little boy's brain.
Armstrong said Charlie’s parents had made a decision following the latest medical reports and scans.
Armstrong said damage to 11-month-old Charlie’s muscle and tissue was irreversible. “The parents’ worst fears have been confirmed,” he said. “It is now too late to treat Charlie.”
Charlie’s parents had originally petitioned the courts to allow them to bring their son to the United States to undergo an experimental treatment at Columbia University – a treatment some experts have said stood a decent chance of improving little Charlie’s condition.
Charlie’s doctors at GOSH have consistently disagreed, eventually winning the case against Charlie’s parents before the European Court of Human Rights. The ruling caused an outcry among the international pro-life community, prompting responses from President Donald Trump and Pope Francis.
It's not yet clear whether the damage could have been avoided had Charlie been allowed to undergo treatment in the U.S.