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Archie Battersbee: Court rules life-support can end

Life-support treatment for 12-year-old Archie Battersbee can end, a judge has ruled.

Archie was found unconscious at home in Southend, Essex, on 7 April.

Doctors at the Royal London Hospital said he was “brain stem dead” and it was in his best interests to stop treatment.

Hollie Dance, Archie’s mother, said the family planned to appeal against the latest decision.

“Archie would want us to keep on fighting… and we will keep on fighting,” she said.

Ms Dance told previous hearings she believed Archie had been taking part in an online challenge prior to being found.

‘Futile’

This is the second time the case has been in the High Court in London.

A different judge previously agreed with doctors and ruled Archie was dead, and today Mr Justice Hayden also ruled in favour of the hospital.

He heard the case in the High Court on Monday after the family went to the Court of Appeal, which ruled a new hearing was necessary.

Mr Justice Hayden said continuing treatment was “futile”.

“It serves only to protract his death, whilst being unable to prolong his life,” he said.

Lawyers representing the hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had told Mr Justice Hayden that Archie had suffered a “devastating” brain injury.

They argued that life-support was “burdensome”, “contrary to dignity” and “ethically distressing” for medics treating him.

Archie’s parents Ms Dance and Paul Battersbee had argued treatment should continue for as long as his heart was beating.

Mr Battersbee, who is separated from Ms Dance, told Mr Justice Hayden that his son would “not want to leave” his mother.

In June, a High Court judge ruled that Archie Battersbee was “brain-stem dead”

Mr Justice Hayden said evidence showed that Archie had suffered a “significant injury” to “multiple areas” of his brain and had not “regained awareness at any time”.

“Archie’s mother described him as a fighter and I have no doubt he was,” said the judge.

“But the fight, if it can properly be characterised as such, is no longer in Archie’s control.”

He said medical evidence had shown that improvement in Archie’s condition was “not possible” and there was “no hope at all of recovery”.

The judge said he had reached his conclusions with “profound regret”.

Ms Dance, Mr Battersbee and other members of Archie’s family were in court to hear the judge’s decision.

“There have been too many battles in too short a space of time,” said Mr Battersbee.

“He needs more time.”

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