British Child Alfie Evans Dies In UK Despite Intense Legal Battle and Massive Protests
By ABC NEWS // April 28, 2018
Alfie Evans dies at 23-months-old
ABOVE VIDEO: Alfie Evans, the terminally ill British child who gained international attention due to a series of court cases surrounding his removal from life support, has died, according to his family.
(ABC NEWS) – Alfie Evans, the terminally ill British child who gained international attention due to a series of court cases surrounding his removal from life support, has died, according to his family.
Thomas Evans, the father of 23-month-old Alfie, announced his son had died in a Facebook post at about 6 a.m. British time.
The post already had over 41,000 interactions and 23,000 shares within an hour of Thomas Evans’ posting the news. Thomas wrote, “My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30.”
Alfie suffered from a neurodegenerative disease that ravaged his brain and left him hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit in Liverpool since December 2016. The hospital decided in December 2017 there was no chance for recovery and moved to remove Alfie from life support — a decision challenged in court by his parents. The court sided with the hospital.
Despite objections from his parents, Thomas and Kate, doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital removed Alfie from life support on Monday. The boy continued to breathe on his own, but his parents and their supporters worried the decision would end his life.
The case drew the attention of Pope Francis, who offered to fly the child to Rome and care for him at a hospital in the Vatican. They even went as far as to grant Alfie Italian citizenship so he could remain in the country.
A court ruled on Tuesday that Alfie was too sick to be taken to hospital at the Vatican and nothing had changed since the previous ruling. High Court Justice Anthony Hayden dismissed the parents’ case, saying his ruling was “the final chapter in the life of this extraordinary little boy.”
Protesters, nicknamed “Alfie’s Army,” had taken up the boy’s case, and even tried to rush the hospital after he was taken off life support.
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