Charlie Gard's parents end legal fight

The parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard have given up their legal battle to take him to the US for experimental treatment.

Sobbing outside the High Court yesterday, Connie Yates and Chris Gard said "time had run out" for their "warrior" son and they had decided to switch off life support before his first birthday next Friday.

Their lawyer, Grant Armstrong, said the decision had been made after US neurologist Dr Michio Hirano said he was no longer willing to offer Charlie the treatment following the results of a new MRI scan.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

He added: "Poor Charlie. It is too late. The damage has been done. Sadly, time has run out. The window of opportunity no longer exists. The parents have taken an extremely hard decision."

Yates and Gard have been involved in a six-month legal battle with Great Ormond Street Hospital for the right to fly their son to the US for pioneering drugs to treat his rare strain of mitochondrial disease. They accused doctors of denying him "his chance of getting better".

Great Ormond Street argued Charlie's life support should be switched off to prevent him suffering further.

The case, which has been heard at the High Court, UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice, has drawn international attention and prompted offers of help from Pope Francis and US President Donald Trump, the BBC reports.

Outside the court, members of "Charlie's Army" broke down as they heard the news and chanted: "Shame on GOSH. Charlie's Army never sleeps. You won't get away with this. We won't rest until we get justice for Charlie," the Daily Mail reports.

While praising the "bravery of the decision", Great Ormond Street said the US treatment "could not have assisted Charlie". It was also "concerned" that Hirano had a "financial interest" in some drugs he wanted to administer.

Charlie's parents said the donations raised to help their son, which total £1.3m, will be used to establish a foundation so Charlie's voice "continues to be heard".