No 10 refuses to intervene in case of Charlie Gard
Chris Smyth, Health Editor
July 6 2017, 12:01am,
The Times
Boris Johnson ruled out government intervention over Charlie Gard yesterday as the Vatican hospital offering to care for him said it was still working to bring the dying baby to Rome.
The foreign secretary told his Italian counterpart that doctors and the judiciary should decide on treatment for 11-month-old Charlie, as he and the prime minister were dragged into a controversy that has gone global after comments from President Trump and the Pope.
Lord Winston, the fertility specialist, was among experts criticising outside intervention on care for the baby, who has severe brain damage as a result of a rare genetic condition.
Charlie’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, wanted to take him to the United States for an experimental treatment but a series of courts agreed with doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital that the unproven therapy would “not only be futile but might well cause pain, suffering and distress”.
The baby’s life support was due to be switched off on Friday but his parents were granted more time with him. The hospital’s lawyer had previously warned: “Every day that passes is a day that is not in the child’s best interests.’’
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