Final Tragedy: UK Boy Dies After Being Taken Off Life Support

Michael Ippolito | August 8, 2022
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A medical nightmare in the United Kingdom ended in tragedy. Reports that twelve-year-old Archie Battersbee has died after a court ordered he be taken off life support against his parents’ wishes. 

After the long and strenuous legal battle for Archie’s life, and after the European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene, Archie died on August 6, as his mother, Hollie Dance, reported. "Archie Battersbee passed away on Saturday afternoon at The Royal London Hospital after treatment was withdrawn in line with court rulings about his best interests," a statement from Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, read on Saturday. This isn’t some third-world country, but a medically advanced, Western nation. 

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After the court order ruled young Battersbee had to be removed from life support, he was moved to hospice, despite reports that he was breathing on his own. "Such a beautiful little boy and he fought right until the very end," Dance said. "[I am] so proud to be his mum." 

"He went completely blue,'' the fiancée of Ella Carter, Archie’s eldest brother, said. "There is absolutely nothing dignified about watching a family member or a child suffocate. No family should ever have to go through what we’ve been through. It’s barbaric." 

The statement continued, "Members of his family were present at the bedside, and our thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with them at this difficult time." First, young Battersbee was the victim of a viral “blackout challenge” on TikTok, which has also led to the deaths of other children worldwide. Now, he’s a victim of an amoral medical system. 

Tragedies like this show the necessity of having a medical system that values human life. Prayers should be said for Archie and his family, and we should not forget how sick our culture can sometimes be.

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