‘BEST INTERESTS’

U.K. Court Says Docs Can Take 12-Year-Old Archie Battersbee Off Life Support

Archie Battersbee has been in intensive care since April, when he suffered a brain injury from taking part in a viral social media challenge, his mother believes.

A U.K. court of appeal has refused to postpone the ending of life support treatment for a 12-year-old boy believed by doctors to be brain-stem dead, rejecting a plea from his parents. After an eleventh-hour hearing, the court ruled that Archie Battersbee will be taken off life support no later than Tuesday, despite a request from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities asking that he remain on life support while it considers his case. Sir Andrew McFarlane, along with two other judges, said on Monday, “Every day [Archie] continues to be given life-sustaining treatment is contrary to his best interests, so a stay, even for a short time, is against his best interests.” His parents said they planned to appeal. “We made a promise to Archie,” Hollie Dance said. “We will fight to the end.” The 12-year-old was found unresponsive in his home in April. Dance believes her son had been taking part in the viral “Blackout Challenge” when he was injured.