EU court denies parents’ plea for son’s life support

Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee had submitted an appeal before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday morning in hopes of continuing life support for their son, Archie. But the court refused to interfere with the British Supreme Court’s earlier decision to allow the child’s doctors to withdraw life support. The British court had found that it is impossible for Archie, who doctors believe is brain-stem dead, to ever recover. The British high court also agreed with a lower court that extending the child’s life support will only “protract his death.” His parents promised that they will “fight until the end” for their son, adding they were considering offers from Japan and Italy to treat him.

Why is Archie in a coma? His mother found him unconscious April 7, apparently after he took part in a dangerous social media trend where participants choke themselves to see how long they can go without breathing.

Dig deeper: Listen to Lynn Vincent’s Lawless podcast about Terri Schiavo, who had her life support withdrawn after a high-profile legal battle.