Archbishop says medical help in 'hard cases' has its limits

The Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, has said that where medical treatment becomes disproportionate to any possible benefit, it is sometimes necessary to recognise the limitations of what can be done.

 

In these cases, proper palliative care for a sick person must be maintained, the archbishop said, while acknowledging that people are seeking to act with integrity and for what they believe to be their loved one’s good. 

 

He was speaking in relation to the case of eight-month-old Charlie Gard, who has a rare genetic condition. Last month, a high court judge ruled that the boy’s life support should be withdrawn after specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London told the court they believed it was time to stop providing life support.

 

The boy’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, want to fly Charlie to the United States for an “experimental” treatment, but the court found it “very unlikely” the medical trial would improve his condition. They said they were “devastated” and were expected to apply to the Appeal Court to re-examine the decision.

 

Referring to the “tragic situation” of the baby, Archbishop Smith said that while those who are responsible for the boy’s medical care in the United Kingdom believe they have done all they can to help him, “it is completely understandable that his parents should want to pursue every possible chance of extending his life”.

 

However, he added: “Sadly, prolonged terminal illness is part of the human condition. We should never act with the deliberate intention to end a human life …We do sometimes, however, have to recognise the limitations of what can be done, while always acting humanely in the service of the sick person until the time of natural death occurs.”