Archie Battersbee, the brain-dead 12-year-old boy who was ordered to “disconnect” against his parents’ will

A British judge ruled on Monday that Archie Battersbee, a 12-year-old boy who has suffered brain damage since last April and whose situation is the focus of a legal dispute between his family and the doctors who treat him, is “dead” with no chance of recovery, so he can stop receiving treatment.

The minor, who was left in that condition as a result of a viral TikTok challenge he ran at homeis currently being treated at the Royal Hospital in Whitechapel, in east London.

Doctors consider the boy to be brain dead. and that he should be disconnected from the machines that keep him alive while his parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, natives of Southend (Essex), maintain that his heart continues to beat and want the treatment to continue.

the british judge Emma Arbuthnot ruled today that Archie is “dead” and that doctors could “legitimately” stop their care. The lawyers representing the hospital had asked the magistrate to mediate in this case in order to determine what measures would be in the best interests of the child.

Archie suffered brain damage on April 7., when his parents found him unconscious. They then indicated that they believed that the minor, who did not regain consciousness, had participated in some “online challenge”. As Arbuthnot noted in a written opinion, “the irreversible cessation of neural stem cell function has been conclusively established.”

“I give permission to the medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital to cease respiration for Archie Battersbee; extubate him; cease medication administration and do not attempt any cardiac resuscitation or pulmonary when cardiac power ceases or respiratory efforts cease, ”said the judge.

The magistrate also indicated that if Archie “continues with mechanical ventilation, the likely outcome is sudden death and the prospects for recovery are nil”. “He finds no pleasure in life and his brain damage is irrecoverable,” she concluded. The family, who will appeal the ruling, was “devastated and extremely disappointed” after weeks of legal battle.

“I feel disgusted that the hospital and the judge have not taken into account the wishes of the family. I don’t think Archie has been given enough time.. From the beginning we have asked ourselves: Why are you in such a hurry? ”, Said the mother today in statements to the press.

“your heart still beatsHe has squeezed my hand and as a mother I know he is still there.”