The case has resonated far and wide, triggering a heated debate about who should decide a child's fate and drawing comment from U. S. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis.
The parents of Charlie Gard have found a doctor willing to look after the terminally ill baby so they can spend time with him away from hospital during the last days of his life, their lawyer told a London court on Wednesday.
The 11-month-old baby, who suffers from an extremely rare genetic condition causing progressive brain damage and muscle weakness, has been the subject of a bitter dispute between his parents and the London hospital where he is being treated.
The case has resonated far and wide, triggering a heated debate about who should decide a child's fate and drawing comment from U.S. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis.
Charlie's parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, have agreed to let their son die, but they wanted to take him home and spend several days with him before his ventilation tube is removed. Great Ormond Street hospital said on Tuesday that would not be possible for practical reasons.
At a hearing on Wednesday, the parents' lawyer Grant Armstrong told the London High Court they had found a doctor who was willing to look after the baby at home or in a hospice.
It was not clear from his remarks which of those was the option being pursued by the family.
The doctor, who Armstrong said had previous experience in intensive care and ran a team of paediatric doctors, was on his way to give evidence to the court later on Wednesday, the lawyer said.
He said a private nursing team would be able to assist, as well as some Great Ormond Street nurses who had volunteered. He also said the parents' team had been in touch with suppliers of ventilators who were able to deliver one within 24 hours.
LEGAL BATTLE
Nicholas Francis, the High Court judge who has presided over an agonising series of hearings on the case, had given the parents until Wednesday to find a team of intensive-care specialists willing to oversee Charlie's care at home.
Failing that, the judge had been expected to make a ruling on where Charlie's life should end - hospital, hospice or home.
After Armstrong's initial remarks, the hearing was adjourned to await the arrival of the doctor. It was expected to resume later on Wednesday.
Francis had indicated on Tuesday that the best option for Charlie's death may be a hospice - a possibility supported by the hospital and preferred by the parents to their son remaining at Great Ormond Street to die.
Charlie requires invasive ventilation to breathe and cannot see, hear or swallow.
Yates and Gard had wanted to take him to the United States to undergo experimental treatment, against the advice of Great Ormond Street doctors who said it would not help and would only prolong the baby's suffering.
British courts, backed by the European Court of Human Rights, refused permission, saying the parents' plan was not in Charlie's best interests.
The parents gave up the legal battle on Monday, saying that the latest scans showed Charlie's condition had deteriorated to the point that no recovery was possible. But they remain convinced that the treatment might have helped Charlie had he received it months ago.
The hospital disagrees. It says Charlie had suffered irreversible brain damage by January as a result of a series of seizures, and his responsiveness has not changed since then.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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