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Hospital Removes Alfie Evans’ Life Support Over His Parents’ Objections

Hospital Removes Alfie Evans’ Life Support Over His Parents’ Objections

Last updated on: April 23, 2018 at 10:21 pm by Patty Knap

Hospital Removes Alfie Evans’ Life Support Over His Parents’ Objections 2018-04-23T22:21:42+00:00 Patty Knap

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According to supporters of Alfie Evans and his parents, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital reportedly removed Alfie’s life support over their strong pleas and objections.

The decision by the Children’s Hospital to remove Alfie Evans’ life support reportedly came after an emergency meeting between attorneys for Alfie’s parents, an Italian government representative, lawyers for the children’s hospital and the judge who allowed the hospital to proceed previously. As supporters of Alfie told LifeNews, Justice Hayden was unpersuaded by a late move from Italy to declare Alfie a citizen. He allowed the Children’s Hospital to remove Alfie’s life support anyway.

The Liverpool Echo reports:

A High Court judge has dismissed a “last-ditch appeal” by the parents of Alfie Evans – the 23-month-old boy who has been at the centre of a life-support treatment fight.

Mr Justice Hayden had said doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool could stop providing life-support treatment to Alfie.

Alfie’s parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, who are both in their early 20s and from Liverpool, asked for a delay to give them time to mount a further challenge.

But the judge has refused their application and given doctors the go-ahead to stop treatment and bring Alfie’s life to an end.

Alfie’s father confirmed the removal of life support and oxygen in a video at 9:17 London time. Alfie’s parents are reportedly in his room at this moment wondering if Alfie will pass away before he was given proper medical care and treatment and a chance to try experimental treatment to possibly deal with the adverse effects of the degenerative neurological condition he is facing.

Earlier in the day, Italy granted citizenship to Alfie Evans, the 23-month-old little boy whose hospital is threatening to revoke his life support without his parents’ consent.

Italy’s decision would have allowed for Alfie’s parents to bring him to a hospital in Rome that has offered to provide appropriate medical care and treatment and to look at experimental treatments that could help his degenerative neurological condition. However, British courts have prevented Alfie’s parents from taking him there and a European Court of human rights has refused to intervene.

Child Granted Italian Citizenship

As ANSA reported:

Italy on Monday gave Italian citizenship to terminally ill British toddler Alfie Evans so that he can hopefully be “immediately” moved to Italy from Liverpool, where doctors are set to pull the plug on him, the foreign ministry said. “Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and Interior Minister Marco Minniti have granted citizenship to little Alfie,” the ministry said.

“In this way the Italian government hopes that being an Italian citizen will enable the immediate transfer of the child to Italy”.

Alfie’s father Thomas Evans confirmed on a Facebook post that his son had received Italian citizenship.

“Alfie has been granted Italian citizenship, we await for the foreign minister to call Borris Johnson. Alfie belongs to Italy,” he wrote.

Pavel Strolilov of Christian Legal, who is representing Alfie’s parents, says the Italian ambassador has contacted the UK court on behalf of Alfie. According to Evans, the family’s attorneys will participate in a conference call with Justice Hayden, the Italian ambassador, and Alder Hey Children’s hospital officials to determine if Alfie can leave the country now that he is an Italian citizen. But it now appears the meeting was unsuccessful.

Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken on Alfie’s behalf and even today, urged that Alfie’s parents be allowed to bring the boy to Italy.

This heartbreaking action comes after the ironically named European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene against Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. This bizarre decision allowed the hospital to remove Alfie’s life support without his parent’s consent. The expectation now is that Alfie will die within a day or two.

His parents have been fighting to get appropriate medical care and treatment at a different hospital and they say that one in Rome Italy has offered to take him to provide care as well as looking at potential treatment that could possibly save his life.

A ECHR spokesman said on Monday: “The European court of human rights has rejected the application submitted by the family of Alfie Evans as inadmissible.”

This was the second time Alfie’s parents lost at the European Court. This time they argued that Alfie is being wrongly ‘detained’ at Alder Hey and made a habeas corpus application. A writ of habeas corpus – Latin for ‘you may have the body’ – is a legal maneuver which requires a court to examine the legality of a detention.

If Anyone, Anywhere Offers Any Kind of Treatment for the Evans’ Son, Why Haven’t the Parents Been Allowed to Bring Their Child There?

Tom Evans posted on the Alfie Army Facebook page to describe his time in Rome – where he met the Pope and the president of the Bambino Gesú hospital.

“The president of Bambino Gesú called me in for a meeting. She wants to take Alfie as soon as tomorrow and will do everything for him,” Evans explained. “Even if we find a diagnosis they will continue to search for a cure. She even wanted to come and meet him herself and still does. She was such a lovely woman and said they will do everything they can for Alfie as they would with any other.

“Pray hard this is Alfie’s step to his desperately needed transfer,” he said.

Evans also described what led to his trip to meet with Pope Francis.

He said: “Wow, what an emotionally exciting blessed 12 hours. I jumped on the plane at 11 last night [Tuesday] to Athens, got there for 4:50am, then took off at 6:05 to Rome to meet the Pope. Straight after interviews with various countries’ media – a lot of them. I spoke to the director of Vatican News, then was alerted the Pope had sent an urgent request to Bambino to take Alfie as soon as possible.”

Evans added: “Our child is sick, but not dying and does not deserve to die. He is not terminally ill nor diagnosed. We have been trying our best to find out his condition to treat or manage it.”

“I am now here in front of Your Holiness to plea for asylum, our hospitals in the UK do not want to give disabled children the chance of life and instead the hospitals in the UK are now assisting death in children. Alfie is not dying, so we do not want to take him out the way the hospital wish us to. We see life and potential in our son and we want to bring him here to Italy, at Bambino Gesú, where we know he is safe and he will not be euthanised.”

Hundreds of supporters of little Alfie Evans pleaded for his life and attempted to storm a children’s hospital today to rescue him from certain death.

After blocking the road to the Liverpool hospital for 15 minutes, video footage showed supporters trying to break through a police line into the hospital. Cops held back the demonstrators. Dozens ran towards the main doors before police officers stationed inside and out blocked the entrance. After a short stand off the crowd retreated to gather around 100 yards away on the road outside, chanting, “Save Alfie Evans”.

Tom Evans, Alfie’s father, asked protestors to remain peaceful and to pray. He said yesterday: “We’re still here, we’re still fighting, we’re trying to look for a legal way of stopping this at least for now, at the moment anyway it looks very slim.” Tom and his wife have fought to get appropriate Medical Care and treatment for the rare neurological disorder at a different hospital for their child and they say that one in Rome Italy has offered to take him to provide care as well as looking at potential treatment that could possibly save his life.

A ECHR spokesman said on Monday: “The European court of human rights has rejected the application submitted by the family of Alfie Evans as inadmissible.”

This was the second time Alfie’s parents lost at the European Court. This time they argued that Alfie is being wrongly ‘detained’ at Alder Hey and made a habeas corpus application. A writ of habeas corpus – Latin for ‘you may have the body’ – is a legal maneuver which requires a court to examine the legality of a detention.

On Friday, the UK’s Supreme Court stated that the hospital can be allowed to proceed with its decision to yank Alfie’s life support without their consent.

Tom Evans posted on the Alfie Army Facebook page to describe his recent visit to the Pope Rome, where he also met the president of the Bambino Gesú hospital.

“The president of Bambino Gesú called me in for a meeting. She wants to take Alfie as soon as tomorrow and will do everything for him,” Evans explained. “Even if we find a diagnosis they will continue to search for a cure. She even wanted to come and meet him herself and still does. She was such a lovely woman and said they will do everything they can for Alfie as they would with any other.

“Pray hard this is Alfie’s step to his desperately needed transfer,” he said.

Evans also described what led to his trip to meet with Pope Francis.

He said: “Wow, what an emotionally exciting blessed 12 hours. I jumped on the plane at 11 last night [Tuesday] to Athens, got there for 4:50am, then took off at 6:05 to Rome to meet the Pope. Straight after interviews with various countries’ media – a lot of them. I spoke to the director of Vatican News, then was alerted the Pope had sent an urgent request to Bambino to take Alfie as soon as possible.”

Evans added: “Our child is sick, but not dying and does not deserve to die. He is not terminally ill nor diagnosed. We have been trying our best to find out his condition to treat or manage it.”

“I am now here in front of Your Holiness to plea for asylum, our hospitals in the UK do not want to give disabled children the chance of life and instead the hospitals in the UK are now assisting death in children. Alfie is not dying, so we do not want to take him out the way the hospital wish us to. We see life and potential in our son and we want to bring him here to Italy, at Bambino Gesú, where we know he is safe and he will not be euthanised.”

But it appears Alfie’s life is out of their control now.

Alfie Evan’s Right to Life Denied by Human Rights Court

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