Archie Battersbee's Mum Promises To Appeal Again As She Wants Son To 'Have Time To Recover'
Archie Battersbee's mum has promised to appeal the decision to switch his life support off today (2 August).
Archie has been in a comatose state since suffering a 'catastrophic' brain injury at his home in Southend, Essex, in April and is currently receiving support from Barts Health NHS Trust.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday (1 August) that doctors would now withdraw the 12-year-old's life-sustaining treatment.
Speaking outside The Royal London Hospital, Archie's mother, Hollie Dance, said she would continue to fight for her son.
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She said: "We made a promise to Archie, we will fight to the end. And Archie's still fighting.
"If tomorrow's the last day then so be it, but we will be applying to the Supreme Court."
Ms Dance said her son needs 'time to recover' and that no one is thinking of what is best for him.
"I've got my son's best interests at heart - Paul, and the siblings - nobody else has got Archie's best interests at heart," she said.
"And I say, and I still stand by it, Archie's best interests would be to allow that child time to recover. If he doesn't recover he doesn't recover, but give him time to recover."
Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer for Barts Health NHS Trust, offered his condolences to Archie's family but said treatment is set to be removed from midday today.
He said: "Our heartfelt sympathies and condolences remain with Archie’s family at this difficult time.
"We are following the direction of the courts, so no changes will be made to Archie’s care whilst the family appeal to the Supreme Court, though we will prepare to withdraw treatment after midday tomorrow unless directed otherwise."
The Court of Appeals had a virtual meeting to consider a request from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) to keep Archie alive while they reviewed his case, but ultimately it was determined that his life support should be turned off.
Doctors caring for the young boy previously declared him as brain-stem dead and said continuing treatment would not be in his best interests.
However, Ms Dance had argued that withdrawing treatment would be a 'flagrant breach of Archie's rights as a disabled person'.
The family – who believe Archie suffered a brain injury while taking part in an online challenge – claimed stopping treatment would be in breach of the UK's obligations under Articles 10 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
These obligations require states to take all necessary measures to ensure disabled people have equal rights and that governments should do everything they can to prevent the deaths of children and young people.
High Court judge Mr Justice Hayden ruled last month that Archie should be allowed to die after reviewing evidence at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court.
The judge determined what happened to Archie was a 'tragedy of immeasurable dimensions', and explained: "There is unfortunately no treatment possible to reverse the damage that has been caused to Archie’s brain. There can be no hope at all of recovery."
Dominic Smithers