Melanie Phillips on the tragic case of Charlie Gard

The tragic story of Charlie Gard is every parent's nightmare. There are no right answers about how to deal with such a case: no decent human being can feel anything but sorry for the plight of this infant and his mum and dad. All parents must be thinking something along the lines of "There, but for the grace of God, go I" (or the equivalent is for those of other faiths or none.)

To have such cases resolved by the courts should be a last resort: it is far better than decisions about the clinical care of any child should be taken by doctors in consultation with the family rather than by juidges and lawuers. The only thing even worse than having such decisions end up in independent courts would be having them taken by politicians, commentators or twitter - let alone by politicians commentators or twitterati thousands of miles away.

There is a thoughtful piece on the subject by Melanie Phillips on the subject which you can read here and which I recommend.

She concludes her piece as I will conclude this one by saying that the last word should be given to Great Ormond Street hospital when a statement from the hospital said that all their thoughts

“go with Charlie and his mother and father – the hospital wishes each of them peace in their hearts at the end of this day and each day to come”.

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