Brain-dead Archie (12) died – parents fought to the end to be transferred

12-year-old Archie has been in a coma since April. After legal disputes, the parents had one last wish for their son. It’s not the first case of this kind in the UK.

Update from August 6, 4:25 p.m.: The terminally ill English boy Archie is dead. He died at 12.15pm (local time) on Saturday, his mother Hollie Dance said in the afternoon outside the London hospital where Archie has been on life support for the past few months, according to the PA news agency. The mother had announced on Friday that the equipment should be turned off on Saturday morning.

Archie has been in a coma since April. He suffered serious brain injuries in an accident at home in Southend-on-Sea. The treating doctors saw no chance of recovery. The parents had recently failed before the Court of Appeal in London and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg with applications to move Archie from the hospital to a hospice for his final hours.

Update from August 5, 4:16 p.m.: Despite another defeat in court, the parents of the terminally ill Archie in England do not want to give up and continue to fight for their son to be placed in a hospice. The family and their supporters filed an application with the Court of Appeal on Friday, after the High Court ruled against the 12-year-old being transferred from hospital to a hospice to die.

Brain dead Archie: The parents fought for their son’s life in numerous courts

First report from August 4th: Archie was supposed to die in mid-July, then on Monday (August 1) and finally on Wednesday: the 12-year-old Briton suffered severe brain injuries during an Internet test of courage in April. Archie has been in a coma ever since. His parents repeatedly tried to prevent the machines from being switched off in court. Most recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled against the parents’ application.

The case of 12-year-old Archie is a process that went through all judicial instances. After Archie lost consciousness on April 7 and was treated in a coma patient in a London hospital, the British judiciary ruled that the boy’s vital functions would end in mid-July. The measures include a ventilator and the administration of medication. With its decision, the judiciary followed the assessments of the doctors who had found the 12-year-old brain dead.

Brain-dead boy from Great Britain: Archie’s parents kept getting delays

The parents repeatedly obtained postponements of the decision through a number of instances. The Supreme Court on Tuesday (2 August) rejected an application to continue the measures. There is no prospect of a real recovery. “His system, his organs and his heart are failing,” Appellate Judge Andrew McFarlane said on Monday. The judges expressed “great condolences” to Archie’s parents.

The shutdown, which was then planned for Wednesday, was postponed again due to the parents’ short-term application to the ECtHR, according to the British news agency PA reported. But he also dismissed the lawsuit. Such requests would only be granted in “exceptional cases”.

Archie’s mum speaks about “heartbreaking development” — not the first case in the UK

The boy’s mother said it was a “heartbreaking development” in a statement. “We will fight to the end for Archie’s right to life.” After the judgment of the ECtHR, the family now has one last wish: they want to work for a “dignified death” of their son in a hospice. On Thursday, the day after the ECtHR judgment, the family submitted a corresponding application. The hospital had given the family until 9 a.m., otherwise the machines would have been switched off at 11 a.m., reports the British Independent. Now the decision on the last wish of the family is again in the hands of the judge.

The case is reminiscent of similar disputes over terminally ill children in Great Britain. The financially squeezed British health service tends to withdraw life support much sooner than would be the case in Germany. In Germany, for example, a woman woke up from a coma after 27 years. In addition, the wishes of parents and relatives are not taken into account to the same extent in Great Britain. What is in the best interests of the patient is often decided by judges on the recommendation of medical professionals. Also a touching story from England comes out Southampton. Here a dog helped his master in a coma. (chd/dpa/AFP)