The plight of terminally-ill baby, Charlie Gard, became the focus of international attention this week, after interventions by Pope Francis and US President Donald Trump.
“The World is Watching. Two of the most powerful men in the world want to give Charlie Gard his chance,” a banner proclaimed, across the top of the Charliesfight website, run by his parents and supporters, who have raised over £1 million in donations to pay for the baby’s medical bills in the United States.
On Sunday, Pope Francis called for the parents of 11-month-old Charlie to be allowed to “accompany and treat their child until the end”. Chris Gard and Connie Yates had been expecting their son’s life support to be turned off last Friday after they lost a legal fight to take him to the US for an experimental medical procedure. However, Great Ormond Street Hospital in London said it will continue Charlie’s care to allow the family to spend more time with him.
A statement released by the Vatican said the Pope was following Charlie’s case with “affection and sadness” and that he wishes to “express his closeness to his [Charlie’s] parents”.
“For them he prays, hoping that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end is not ignored,” it added.
On Monday, President Donald Trump tweeted: “If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the UK and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.”
Charlie Gard suffers from a rare genetic condition, mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, and is unable to breathe unaided.
The condition causes brain damage and progressive muscle weakness. His parents want to take him to undergo further treatment, although this would not offer a cure. Doctors at Great Ormond Street said that the therapy was unlikely to be beneficial for the little boy.
He has been receiving specialist treatment at Great Ormond Street since October 2016. In June, his parents lost their final legal appeal to take him to the United States, after judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the hospital could withdraw Charlie’s life support and allow the boy to die.
The Pope’s intervention appeared to mark a shift in the Church’s position. Earlier, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said: “We do, sometimes, have to recognise the limitations of what can be done, while always acting humanely in the service of the sick person until the time that natural death occurs.” That was a view echoed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in their comments on the case in recent months.
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