British judge agrees to rehear Charlie Gard’s case

A British judge has agreed to rehear evidence in the case of baby Charlie Gard, giving his parents a new chance to convince doctors he deserves a chance at life. “There is not a person alive who would not want to save Charlie,” Judge Nicholas Francis said Monday. “If there is new evidence I will hear it.” Francis had previously sided with doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London who said further treatment would only prolong Charlie’s suffering. His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, have fought for months to get their son an experimental treatment that could help him. Charlie has mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a rare genetic disease that left him with brain damage and unable to breathe unaided. But researchers at two hospitals outside the U.K. believe they can help him. Gard and Yates have raised $1.7 million to transport Charlie to another facility, but based on previous court rulings, the government has refused to allow him to leave the country. The case has generated international attention and highlighted the pitfalls of socialized medicine. Charlie’s parents will go back to court Thursday.