This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42862431
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Isaiah Haastrup: Baby's life-support 'can be stopped' | Isaiah Haastrup: Baby's life-support 'can be stopped' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Doctors can stop life-support treatment to a brain-damaged 11-month-old against parents' wishes, a High Court judge has said. | Doctors can stop life-support treatment to a brain-damaged 11-month-old against parents' wishes, a High Court judge has said. |
| Staff at King's College Hospital said giving further treatment to Isaiah Haastrup was "not in his best interests". | Staff at King's College Hospital said giving further treatment to Isaiah Haastrup was "not in his best interests". |
| Isaiah's parents, Takesha Thomas and Lanre Haastrup, both 36, wanted the go-ahead to provide only palliative care. | Isaiah's parents, Takesha Thomas and Lanre Haastrup, both 36, wanted the go-ahead to provide only palliative care. |
| Mr Justice MacDonald said he passed his ruling with "profound sadness". | Mr Justice MacDonald said he passed his ruling with "profound sadness". |
| Mr Haastrup, from Peckham, south London, said after the ruling: "We will be speaking to the lawyers to see what they say. | |
| "Of course, one is disappointed." | |
| During the hearing, doctors told the judge Isaiah suffered "catastrophic" brain damage due to being deprived of oxygen at birth. | |
| They said Isaiah was in a low level of consciousness, could not move or breathe independently and was connected to a ventilator. | |
| They also said Isaiah did not respond to stimulation. | |
| However, Miss Thomas told the judge: "When I speak to him he will respond, slowly, by opening one eye." | |
| Pain and suffering | |
| "I see a child who is injured. He needs love. He needs care. I have it. I can give it," she added. | |
| "To say it is so poor, it is not worth living, that is not right. It is not their decision to make." | |
| Barrister Fiona Paterson, representing King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said nobody could understand the pain and suffering Isaiah's parents had endured. | |
| However, she said overwhelming medical evidence showed stopping treatment was best for Isaiah. | |
| In his ruling, Mr Justice MacDonald said: "Examining Isaiah's best interests from a broad perspective I am satisfied that it is not in his best interests for life-sustaining medical treatment to be continued. | |
| "That, with profound sadness, is my judgment." |