U.K. Supreme Court lifts gag orders on parents of critically ill children

The five-justice body on Wednesday ruled that permanent gag orders cannot be imposed on parents of critically ill children except in extraordinary cases. Lower courts would need to show compelling evidence that a healthcare worker faced a serious ongoing threat in order to grant the worker lifelong anonymity in litigation. Four justices joined in the majority opinion, while one concurred.

The case decided Wednesday was brought by two families whose children died after Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital won court cases to remove their life support. Both families were told they would be imprisoned for contempt of court if they ever revealed the identities of the healthcare staff involved in the deaths of their children. The Supreme Court review of their case concluded a seven-year legal battle, according to the Christian Legal Centre, which represented the families in Wednesday’s case.

How common are permanent gag orders on parents? Permanent gag orders on parents were frequently imposed after the high-profile controversies in the deaths of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans in 2017 and 2018. Britain’s National Health Service has repeatedly taken parents to court, asking for the right to withdraw life support from their critically ill children. Family Division judges often barred families from ever naming the doctors and staff involved in their children’s deaths, according to the Christian Legal Centre.

What were the reasons cited by Family Division judges for keeping the names secret? Healthcare staff involved in such cases might face harassment through social media or shouts from demonstrations outside the hospital, according to court documents. The gag orders were meant to prevent that harassment, court documents stated.

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