UK court rules anew against parents of critically-ill girl

LONDON (AFP): Britain’s Court of Appeal on Friday rejected the latest bid by the parents of a terminally-ill girl to have her life support removed at home instead of in a hospital.

The emotive case is the latest in Britain pitting parents against the country’s legal and healthcare systems.

Baby Indi was born on February 24 and diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, a genetic condition that prevents cells in the body producing energy.

There is no cure and her parents — Claire Staniforth and Dean Gregory —  want her life-support treatment withdrawn at home rather than in hospital or at a hospice.

A judge had ruled against the parents, agreeing with specialists who said it was “too dangerous” to withdraw life-support treatment outside a medical setting “given the clinical complications”.

A judge has also ruled out moving the baby to Italy, where the parents wanted her to be treated at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesu hospital, even after the government in Rome awarded her citizenship.

On Friday, a court rejected the parents’ latest appeal, confirming that it was too dangerous to stop treatment outside a medical setting.

“Claire and I are again disgusted by another one-sided decision from the judges”, Gregory, Indy’s father, was quoted as saying by the Christian Concern group that has been supporting the couple.

“This feels like the latest kick in the teeth, and we will not give up fighting for our daughter’s chance to live until the end”, he said.