Archie Battersbee's Family Seek To Appeal Ruling He Is 'Dead'

The family of Archie Battersbee have launched a campaign to stop the youngster’s life support being turned off, following a high court ruling that the treatment should end. 

Archie's mum Hollie Dance said she found her son with a ligature over his head on 7 April, and believes he may have been taking part in an online challenge. 

The 12-year-old suffered brain damage during the incident, with doctors at the Royal London Hospital in east London saying it was 'highly likely' he was 'brain-stem dead'. 

Last week, a high court judge ruled that Archie’s life support treatment should be turned off, giving permission for doctors to do so. 

Family Handout

Lawyers representing the Royal London Hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked Justice Arbuthnot to decide what would be in Archie’s best interests.

On Monday 13 June, Mrs Judge Arbuthnot said: "I find that Archie died at noon on May 31, 2022, which was shortly after the MRI scans taken that day. 

"I find that irreversible cessation of brain stem function has been conclusively established. 

"I give permission to the medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital to cease to ventilate mechanically Archie Battersbee." 

Now Archie’s parents – Hollie and her ex-husband Paul Battersbee – are campaigning to appeal the ruling. 

Alamy

A spokesperson for the Christian Legal Centre, a campaign organisation that is supporting Archie’s relatives, said the family will use a follow-up High Court hearing to ask Arbuthnot to allow them to appeal. 

According to The Guardian, they are expected to launch an appeal attempt today, 20 June. The family must establish they have an arguable case before a full hearing can take place. 

Speaking to the outlet in an interview last week, Hollie said the last two months had been 'torture', but that the family were forging ahead with an appeal.

The mum said she believed the judge had made 'quite a few mistakes' in the case, also claiming she had seen small signs Archie's health was improving. 

Family Handout

“Archie should be given a lot longer,” she said.

“There are Covid patients who get six months to a year and are on ventilators struggling for their life. Archie has had eight very short weeks and we have been in and out of court.” 

Dance said the impact on the family since her son’s accident has been 'emotionally draining', adding that she and his siblings have found it hard to see the talented gymnast bedridden.