American Dad Destroys British Doctor In Charlie Gard Debate

Maureen Collins | July 7, 2017
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Art Estopinan's six-year-old son suffers from a mitochondrial disorder similar to the one that British infant Charlie Gard has. 

Over the past two weeks, Charlie Gard's story has received a ton of media attention after the European Court of Human Rights denied his parents' last appeal at keeping the 10-month-old alive. Charlie's parent want to take him to the United States for an experimental treatment to combat his serious genetic condition. But the little boy's doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London think Charlie is beyond help, and want to take Charlie off life support.

Though Estopinan's son has a slightly different condition, his son, Art Jr., owes his life to the same treatment by researchers at Columbia University that Charlie's parents are seeking. 

On Tuesday, Estopinan appeared on Good Morning Britain to share his story and why he thought Charlie's life is worth saving.

Dr. Hilary Jones, a British physician who also appeared on the show, disagrees. 

Jones presented the same view that Charlie's doctors  and the British government are advancing: that Charlie Gard's life is not worth living, and that he needs to be taken off his ventilator. 

"You can keep somebody alive on an artificial respirator. You can give them an IV drip full time, 24-hour nursing around the clock. You can give them a gastric tube. But what kind of a life is that you're giving your son or your daughter?"

Understandably, this set Estopinan off: 

"What this gentleman is saying is totally, 100 percent false. My son has been on a ventilator for five years. He's getting stronger. When he got home four years ago, he couldn't move anything--only his eyes. Now, he can move his hands, he can move his feet, he can move his fingers. He's a happy boy. Sir, you are totally, 100 percent wrong." 

Wow. What a powerful statement in defense of the value of life.

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