Deadline passes for Charlie Gard’s hospital treatment

UPDATE: The court-appointed deadline for Charlie Gard’s parents to come to an agreement with the hospital about his end-of-life care has passed, though the next steps for the terminally ill infant are unclear. A judge ordered the 11-month-old transferred to hospice by noon local time Thursday if no other arrangements could be made.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (2:10 p.m., 7/26/17): A judge in London said terminally ill baby Charlie Gard will be transferred to a hospice to die unless his family and the hospital treating him agree on an end-of-life plan by noon Thursday. The 11-month-old’s parents conceded Wednesday to take him to a hospice and not to their home but requested the hospice provider continue to keep Charlie alive for a week instead of just the few hours he is expected to live if his life support is discontinued. “It is in Charlie’s best interests to be moved to a hospice and for him at that point to be moved to a palliative care regime only,” Judge Nicholas Francis said. Charlie’s mother, Connie Yates, left a courtroom in distress before the judge made his ruling. After months of court proceedings on whether the 11-month-old baby could receive experimental treatment, his parents withdrew their request Monday. Doctors said too much time had passed for Charlie to benefit from the treatment.