A seriously ill two-month-old baby who doctors say feels pain when held should be allowed to die, a High Court judge has decided. Specialists told Mr Justice Williams that the boy was being sedated when handled to reduce his agitation. They said he should move to a children’s hospice and receive palliative care. The boy’s mother, who has learning difficulties, wanted her son to continue to receive life-sustaining medication.
A man thought to be the boy’s father also wanted treatment to continue and asked the judge to postpone a decision. But Mr Justice Williams refused to delay a decision and concluded that a move to a palliative care regime at a hospice was in the boy’s best interests.
He made the ruling late on Wednesday after analysing the case at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London. The judge said the case could be reported but he said neither the baby nor the NHS hospital trust which asked for treatment to be withdrawn could be named. Doctors said the boy had weighed less than 4lb (1.74 kg) when born in May and had serious heart and neurological abnormalities. They said there was no hope of improvement and even if he continued to receive medication he would probably not live until Christmas. But they said he endured daily pain and suffering.