Baby Charlie Gard dies

Charlie Gard, the 11-month-old at the center of a battle over parental rights in England, has died, a family spokesman confirmed today. Doctors transferred Charlie to hospice after his parents dropped their attempt to get an experimental treatment for him. Charlie had a rare genetic condition that left him unable to move or breathe on his own. Doctors at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital wanted to end his life support, and parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates fought a months-long legal battle to save him. London’s high court agreed earlier this month to allow an American doctor to examine Charlie, but his prognosis wasn’t good. Earlier this week, the lawyer representing Charlie’s parents said the baby’s condition had deteriorated too much for treatment. Gard and Yates wanted to spend time with him in hospice before doctors shut off his life support, but the court sided with doctors who said it should be terminated as soon as he arrived at a hospice center.