The parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard are ‘utterly distraught’ and facing fresh heartbreak after losing their final appeal in the European Court of Human Rights.
Chris Gard, 32, and Connie Yates, 31, wanted to take their 10-month-old son – who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage – to the US to undergo a therapy trial.
Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, where Charlie is being cared for, said they wanted him to be able to ‘die with dignity’.
But the couple, from Bedfont, west London, raised almost £1.4million so they could take their son to America but a series of courts ruled in favour of the British doctors.
It comes after specialists at Great Ormond Street said therapy in the US is experimental and will not help and added that life support should stop.
And after losing legal battles in the UK, Charlie’s parents were hoping judges in Strasbourg, France, would come to their aid.
But on Tuesday afternoon, the ECHR rejected a last-ditch plea and their ‘final’ decision means the baby’s life support machine will be switched off.
The ECHR announced the application to the court by the parents was ‘inadmissible’ and added that their decision was ‘final’.
Mr Gard and Miss Yates have yet to comment on today’s decision, however their Twitter account ‘Charlie’s fight’, retweeted a number of messages.
One said: ‘The #CharlieGard case is terrible. Shame on the UK judges allowing him to die, shameful, terrible decision.’
Another message the account retweeted read: ‘Very evil people….. Sentencing a child to death! What an anti-child pagan society we are. I pray for #CharlieGard!’
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children today said their thoughts are with Charlie’s parents and said the decision ‘marks the end of a difficult process’.
Their statement read: ‘Our thoughts are with Charlie’s parents on receipt of this news that we know will be very distressing for them.
‘Today’s decision by the European Court of Human Rights marks the end of what has been a very difficult process and our priority is to provide every possible support to Charlie’s parents as we prepare for the next steps.
‘There will be no rush by Great Ormond Street Hospital to change Charlie’s care and any future treatment plans will involve careful planning and discussion.’
A statement from the ECHR said: ‘Today the European Court of Human Rights has by a majority endorsed in substance the approach by the domestic courts and thus declared the application inadmissible. The decision is final.
‘The case concerned Charlie Gard, a baby suffering from a rare and fatal genetic disease.
‘In February 2017, the treating hospital sought a declaration from the domestic courts as to whether it would be lawful to withdraw artificial ventilation and provide Charlie with palliative care.
‘Charlie’s parents also asked the courts to consider whether it would be in the best interests of their son to undergo experimental treatment in the US.
‘The domestic courts concluded that it would be lawful for the hospital to withdraw life sustaining treatment because it was likely that Charlie would suffer significant harm if his present suffering was prolonged without any realistic prospect of improvement, and the experimental therapy would be of no effective benefit.
‘The domestic court decisions had been meticulous, thorough and reviewed at three levels of jurisdiction with clear and extensive reasoning giving relevant and sufficient support for their conclusions; the domestic courts had direct contact with all those concerned.
‘The domestic courts had concluded, on the basis of extensive, high-quality expert evidence, that it was most likely Charlie was being exposed to continued pain, suffering and distress and that undergoing experimental treatment with no prospects of success would offer no benefit, and continue to cause him significant harm.’
It comes after a High Court judge in April ruled against a trip to America and in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors.
Mr Justice Francis concluded that life-support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.
Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling and three Supreme Court justices dismissed a further challenge by the couple.
Mr Justice Francis made a ruling after a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
The couple have not commented on the decision this afternoon but instead retweeted a number of messages including one which said the case ‘is terrible’.
Their account also retweeted this message which said the decision was ultimately ‘sentencing a child to death’.
He heard that Charlie, who was born on August 4 last year, has a form of mitochondrial disease, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.
Specialists in the US have offered a therapy called nucleoside.
During hearings in London, barrister Richard Gordon QC, who leads Charlie’s parents’ legal team, has given indications of the case the couple are mounting in the European court.
He has suggested that British government ministers may be in breach of human rights obligations as a result of decisions by judges in London.
He has said parents should be free to make decisions about their children’s treatment unless any proposal poses a risk of significant harm.
Mr Gordon also suggested that Charlie’s rights to life and liberty might have been breached and the couple’s right to respect for family life infringed.
Charlie’s parents have raised nearly £1.4million to pay for therapy in America.
The couple launched an appeal on a GoFundMe website four months ago, saying they needed £1.2 million.
They reached their target shortly before a High Court trial began in April and more than 83,000 people have donated money.
Charlie’s mother has posted a message on the website thanking people for their continued support.
Timeline: Parents of 10-month-old baby battle to save their son
August 4, 2016
Charlie Gard was born a ‘perfectly healthy’ baby.
September 2016
At just eight weeks old, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition after he began to lose weight.
He became only the 16th person in the world to be diagnosed with mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. The condition causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.
January 2017
Charlie’s mother finds an American doctor who is willing to offer her son a trial therapy.
She set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for the treatment, called nucleoside.
April 2, 2017
His parents set themselves a target of £1.2million the day before a High Court hearing into Charlie’s case began.
The money they raised – which was thanks to donations from around the world, including from celebrities – was enough for Charlie to travel by air ambulance and to cover the cost of the experimental treatment.
April 3, 2017
A judge in the High Court started to consider whether the baby’s life support machines should be turned off.
The judge also considered whether his parents should be allowed to take him to America for the treatment.
April 11, 2017
A High Court judge ruled that doctors at Great Ormond Street are permitted to turn of his life-support machines.
His mother screamed ‘no’ when the verdict was announced and the couple later descried themselves as ‘devastated’ and vowed to appeal the decision.
April 22, 2017
More than 110,000 people signed a petition which urged people to write letters calling on the Prime Minister to release him from hospital.
May 25, 2017
Three judges at the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s ruling that Charlie’s life support treatment should end.
June 8, 2017
Three Supreme Court justices rejected a fresh challenge by Charlie’s parents and his mother said: ‘How can they do this to us?’
Doctors at Great Ormond Street were told to keep his life support on for another day so the European Court of Human Rights could consider his case.
June 13, 2017
Judges in Strasbourg, France, said the life support should be kept on until Monday June 19.
June 27, 2017
Judges in the European Court of Human Rights rejected a plea from the parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard to intervene in the case.
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