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| US residency for Charlie Gard to be proposed in Congress | US residency for Charlie Gard to be proposed in Congress |
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| Charlie Gard should be given residency in the US so he can receive experimental treatment in the country, congressmen have said as the terminally ill baby’s parents prepare to launch a renewed legal bid for treatment. | Charlie Gard should be given residency in the US so he can receive experimental treatment in the country, congressmen have said as the terminally ill baby’s parents prepare to launch a renewed legal bid for treatment. |
| Republican representatives Brad Wenstrup and Trent Franks are expected to table a bill in the US House of Representatives on Monday to bring Charlie and his parents to the US. | |
| The intervention comes as more than 350,000 people signed a petition urging the baby’s doctors to allow him to receive treatment abroad, and his family said the “fight is not over”. | |
| In a joint statement, the US politicians said: “Our bill will support Charlie’s parents’ right to choose what is best for their son, by making Charlie a lawful permanent resident in the US in order for him to receive treatments that could save his life. | In a joint statement, the US politicians said: “Our bill will support Charlie’s parents’ right to choose what is best for their son, by making Charlie a lawful permanent resident in the US in order for him to receive treatments that could save his life. |
| “Should this little boy to be ordered to die because a third party, overriding the wishes of his parents, believes it can conclusively determine that immediate death is what is best for him?” | “Should this little boy to be ordered to die because a third party, overriding the wishes of his parents, believes it can conclusively determine that immediate death is what is best for him?” |
| On Sunday, the justice secretary said it was right that the courts decide on what was in the 11th-month-old’s best interests, adding that the government had no role to play in the case. | |
| The lord chancellor, David Lidington, expressed sympathy with the judges involved in the “heartwrenching” case when asked on Sky News’ Ridge On Sunday whether it was right that judges could overrule the wishes of Charlie’s parents. | |
| Lidington said: “It is right that judges interpret the law, independently and dispassionately. As ministers and as a government we have no role to play in the Charlie Gard case, as would be the case in any other proceeding in court.” | |
| He added: “I do not envy the judges who are having to take decisions on this. It must be incredibly pressured – probably emotional, under the judicial professionalism, a really emotional, heartwrenching case for them to have to decide. | |
| “But they are independent, they know their duty is to decide the case on the basis of what they genuinely consider to be in the best interests of Charlie himself.” | |
| Charlie’s parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, are expected to join supporters in a rally on Sunday near Great Ormond Street hospital where he is being treated. | Charlie’s parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, are expected to join supporters in a rally on Sunday near Great Ormond Street hospital where he is being treated. |
| The petition, which asks the hospital to follow the wishes of Charlie’s parents, will be handed to doctors during the protest before a fresh court battle over his treatment. It reads: “It is unacceptable that you have refused to follow the wishes of his parents and have instead decided to remove his life support, which will kill him.” | |
| The children’s hospital previously won an order to say his life support should be turned off in a case that went all the way to the European court of human rights. They said his condition, caused by a rare mitochondrial disease, was irreversible and that further treatment could cause him suffering. | |
| The degenerative genetic condition affects the cells responsible for energy production and respiration, leaving Charlie unable to move or breathe without a ventilator. | The degenerative genetic condition affects the cells responsible for energy production and respiration, leaving Charlie unable to move or breathe without a ventilator. |
| On Friday, it was announced that the hospital had applied to the high court for a new hearing to decide whether Charlie should be given the experimental drug, as urged by doctors in the US and Rome. | |
| “Two international hospitals and their researchers have communicated to us as late as the last 24 hours that they have fresh evidence about their proposed experimental treatment,” the hospital said in a statement released on Friday. | “Two international hospitals and their researchers have communicated to us as late as the last 24 hours that they have fresh evidence about their proposed experimental treatment,” the hospital said in a statement released on Friday. |
| “And we believe, in common with Charlie’s parents, it is right to explore this evidence.” | “And we believe, in common with Charlie’s parents, it is right to explore this evidence.” |
| Under a high court ruling, the hospital is forbidden from allowing Charlie to be transferred for nucleoside therapy anywhere. It also calls for Charlie’s artificial ventilation to be withdrawn, and for him to receive palliative care only. | |
| The fresh court battle was welcomed by the family. Yates said on Friday: “We are quite happy with this outcome and we are hopeful and confident that Charlie may get his chance now.” | The fresh court battle was welcomed by the family. Yates said on Friday: “We are quite happy with this outcome and we are hopeful and confident that Charlie may get his chance now.” |
| In a series of tweets on the family’s campaign Twitter account over the weekend, they thanked supporters for sharing the story of their 11-month-old son worldwide. | |
| The baby’s plight has attracted international attention with the Pope expressing support for the parents and US president Donald Trump tweeting that the US would do anything it could to help. | The baby’s plight has attracted international attention with the Pope expressing support for the parents and US president Donald Trump tweeting that the US would do anything it could to help. |
| The hospital, however, made it clear that its doctors’ views have not changed. In a statement, they say they have considered nucleoside therapy but believed it could cause Charlie more suffering. | The hospital, however, made it clear that its doctors’ views have not changed. In a statement, they say they have considered nucleoside therapy but believed it could cause Charlie more suffering. |