European justice refuses to prevent the end of the treatment of a young British man in a state of brain death

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The parents of a 12-year-old Briton have been fighting for months to stop the treatment of their son, considered brain dead and kept in a coma in a London hospital since April. But the last judicial option has just vanished. Lhe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected their last-minute appeal, Wednesday August 3, as part of an emergency procedure. The president of the court has indeed decided (in English) “not to pronounce the provisional measure requested” and of “declare the applicants’ complaints inadmissible”.

In mid-July, British justice had already authorized the hospital to end the care that keeps Archie Battersbee alive. But his parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee – who are supported by a Christian organization – refuse this outcome. They say they want to give him every possible chance to recover and claim to have seen signs of life, in his eyes or by pressure from his fingers. They are therefore increasing their appeals to all possible authorities, despite several legal setbacks.

This case is widely publicized in the United Kingdom, where it arouses many reactions. Regularly, Hollie Dance comes to give news of his son and his fight, in front of the cameras massed in front of the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Archie was found unconscious at his home on April 7 and has not regained consciousness since.

According to his mother, he participated in a social media challenge to hold his breath until he passed out. His family adds that his religious beliefs, on the other hand, should be taken into account. She assures that the boy had become more religious, after seeing athletes praying before the competition. But for the medical profession, his case is now hopeless, which justifies stopping treatment. “His system, his organs and his heart are shutting down”also underlined Monday the judge Andrew McFarlane, of the British Supreme Court.

While the end of care was scheduled for Wednesday at midday, following this new court decision, the family had asked the European Court of Human Rights a few hours earlier to prevent it. This new request from the family had been made under Article 39 of the ECHR regulations, which still have jurisdiction in the United Kingdom despite Brexit. This text allows him to order “provisional measures” when applicants are exposed to “a real risk of irreparable damage” for their life.


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