Supreme Court rejects appeal by Archie Battersbee's parents over life-support withdrawal

The parents of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee have lost a Supreme Court bid to block the withdrawal of his life-sustaining treatment pending a review of his case by a UN committee.

Archie has been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother on April 7 and is currently being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.

His parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, were granted a Court of Appeal hearing on Monday after the government asked judges to urgently consider a request from a UN committee to keep treating Archie while it reviews his case. However, after considering the matter, three judges refused to postpone the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment beyond midday on Tuesday.

Read more:Family of Archie Battersbee ask Supreme Court to extend his life-sustaining treatment

They also refused to grant permission to appeal against their ruling at the Supreme Court. Earlier today (August 2) Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee filed an application directly with the Supreme Court and a panel of three justices considered their request.

Lord Hodge, the court’s deputy president, considered the application for permission to appeal alongside Lords Kitchin and Stephens – the same panel of Supreme Court justices who rejected an appeal bid by Archie’s parents last week.

Announcing the court’s refusal to hear the appeal, the judges said: “As this panel stated in its note of determination last week, the justices have great sympathy with the plight of Archie’s devoted parents who face a circumstance that is every parent’s nightmare – the loss of a much-loved child.”

The judges continued: “It has to be borne in mind that,