New High Court battle over a sick baby case - UK

Booklady,
HeavenlyHosts did a good job answering your question, I just wanted to add that I know that the parents went to court to prevent the hospital from withdrawing Alfie's ventilation and they lost and then they appealed and lost again. One of the key components is that the ECHR ruled the case inadmissible, I am not saying that I agree with this but this I believe was the parents' last resort, an international court on human rights. Some of the details are included in the following Wikipedia page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Evans_case

From this Wikipedia page,

Alfie's parents appealed against the decision in late February. On 6 March, the Court of Appeals upheld the earlier ruling of the High Court.[21] They stated that the High Court judge was "meticulous and thorough", and that medical evidence showed Alfie was "deeply comatose" and "to all intents and purposes unaware of his surroundings". The parents applied to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 20 March, which refused the right for another appeal.[22] On 28 March the European Court of Human Rights ruled the case inadmissible, finding no violation of human rights.[23]

In a High Court judgement of 11 April 2018, the judge remarked that "by the end of February the connective pathways within the white matter of the brain which facilitate rudimentary sensation — hearing, touch, taste and sight, had been obliterated. They were no longer even identifiable on the MRI scan".[24] The High Court backed an end-of-life care plan drawn up by medical specialists attached to Alfie Evans' case.

Alfie's father said that Alfie was wrongly "detained" at Alder Hey. High Court judge Hayden dismissed that complaint, and appeal judges upheld his decision.[25][26] On 17 April Mr Evans and Ms James asked the Supreme Court to consider their case again.[6] Their application to appeal was refused on 20 April. The justices wrote, "Alfie looks like a normal baby, but the unanimous opinion of the doctors who have examined him and the scans of his brain is that almost all of his brain has been destroyed. No-one knows why. But that it has happened and is continuing to happen cannot be denied. [...] there is no hope of his ever getting better."[27] The European Court of Human Rights again determined their appeal on these grounds to be inadmissable.[28]

The case concerned the family's argument that the prevention of Alfie's transfer from Alder Hey Hospital constituted deprivation of liberty and a violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights.[29] The decision resulted in a protest of at least 200 people taking place outside of Alder Hey hospital.[30]​

I think that the key information that you may be looking for is contained in the following BBC article. I don't believe that the people in the UK will win many fights like this one unless they make their voices known in another way, hence my suggestion to boycott the upcoming wedding,

Alfie Evans: When are parents denied the final say?
By Reality Check team BBC News 28 April 2018 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43893709

Image copyright PA Image caption Protesters tried to storm the Alder Hey hospital entrance
The parents of 23-month-old Alfie Evans were embroiled in a lengthy legal challenge against the decision to prevent him from leaving the country for treatment.

His death, almost a week after life support was withdrawn, raises painful questions around what happens when doctors and parents disagree about what's best for a child.

The toddler had been in Alder Hey hospital, in Liverpool, since December 2016, with a rare undiagnosed degenerative neurological condition.

The hospital said he should have been given palliative care only. But his parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, wanted to pursue further treatment in Italy.

We expect parents in general to be allowed to make decisions about their children.

Indeed, the concept of parental responsibility is set out in law - in the Children Act 1989 - conferring on parents the right broadly to decide what happens to their child, including the right to consent to medical treatment. But this right is not absolute.

So when can their wishes be overruled?

If a public body considers that a parent's choices risk significant harm to their child, it can challenge these choices - but it must go to court in order to override the legal state of parental responsibility.

• Alfie parents to challenge travel ban
• Alfie's life support withdrawn, dad says
• Who were Alfie's Army?

In the UK, the law doesn't consider either doctors or parents to be automatically right. That's why, when an agreement can not be reached, it comes down to the courts to make the final decision based on the evidence available.


Image copyright Kate James
Professor of medical ethics at the University of Oxford Dominic Wilkinson says there are two fundamental questions that must be answered:

• What is the right thing to do for a child?
• Who should decide?

"The interests of the child are paramount," he says.

"Parents' wishes are listened to and respected, but sometimes what they are asking, doctors feel would do more harm than good and that would be against their professional duty and the law."

He adds Alfie's condition was akin to late-stage dementia. And unlike in the case of Charlie Gard, where similar issues were at stake, there is no suggestion of a new type of treatment.

Alfie's parents had hoped he could be taken to the Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome, which has links to the Vatican.


Image copyright Getty Images Image caption In a similar case, the parents of baby Charlie Gard fought a long legal battle to take their child to the US for treatment
Two cases

In 2006, the parents of a disabled baby boy called Mahdi Bacheikh won their fight against the hospital's request to turn off the ventilator that kept him alive. The 19-month-old had spinal muscular atrophy, was almost totally paralysed and could not breathe unaided, but did not have any sign of brain damage. He died later, aged two.

In contrast, in 2009, the parents of a baby known only as OT, who, like Charlie Gard, had a form of mitochondrial disease, lost their right to keep him on life support. The judge heard he had sustained brain damage and was in discomfort and pain. He died the next day.

Parents refusing treatment

A parent who wants to pursue a treatment that is ineffective and potentially prolongs suffering is treated similarly in law to a parent who refuses life-saving treatment that is very likely to work.

For example, there have been many cases where the courts have sided with the doctors against the wishes of parents who are Jehovah's Witnesses and refuse blood transfusions due to their faith.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43893709

 

Absolutely

 

This Judge Anthony Hayden is reputed to be a homosexual activist, instrumental in achieving parental rights for homosexual couples. There is a suspicion, it seems to me, that he had a severe conflict of interest. It seems plausible that the weakening of the traditional family will have the effect of increasing availability of children for adoption by perverts. If the state gains absolute control over the rights to decide a child's destiny, then the extraordinary power and influence that the homosexual lobby have managed to achieve will present them multiple opportunities for adoption from a sympathetic state. Worse, we may see the actual commodification of children, with them effectively going to the highest bidder (=best offer of a luxurious home and private education). Children will have little more status than expensive pets. It doesn't seem wildly speculative to suspect that this agenda might have influenced Hayden's decision-making.

 

DeGaulle, while I don't dispute your extremely well articulated objections, and the possibility that a person with a mental disorder (which I personally believe homosexuality is) could be part of a conspiracy to hijack the moral traditional culture we all see disintegrating around us. I do not however feel it is God's way of dealing with these horrors.

Jesus said some evils can only be dealt with by Fasting along with prayer. I wonder how many forum members have considered Trusting God, and putting their money (prayer) where their mouth is.

I believe Blessed Mother is the voice crying in the wilderness these days asking us to Fast and Pray. And Faith and Trust and Faithful Service to God is the key to resolving all these issues around the world these days.

Discussing the personal sinful behaviours of individuals on the internet seems like scandal mongering. Of course the contents may be true. But is that how Jesus would want us to behave. It feels like we have become like the people in the Gospel who wanted to stone Mary the Magdalene. Jesus would say to us, let he who is without sin cast the first stone in the public square, which the internet is when you come to think of it. IMHO

 

If one cannot identify one's enemy, one is helpless to fight him. I am not presuming to judge Hayden's soul, but I think I am certainly entitled to comment negatively upon his actions. Homosexual parenting is indefensible child abuse. Someone who is prominently active in promoting such abominations should be called out on it whenever possible. If we ignore this, or do not object to it, is this doing God's will?

 

How could such a judge render a decision based on God's law and commandments, and natural law? I agree, DeGaulle. We see that in our courts here as well.
(USA)

 

And I am praying and fasting. I cannot speak for others on this forum, but I think they are, as well, or would not stay here. No offense to anyone.

 

Thank you Heavenly Hosts and Carol for your responses. This is a tragic case, in the end it seems that one's life is in the hands of the officers of the courts, perhaps well meaning but not the parents nor the doctors.

I like the idea of getting a second or even a third opinion when it comes to medical matters. This will either corroborate the hospital doctor's diagnosis that their treatment plan is the best for the patient; or, possibly provide the patient with another optional treatment plan. In this case not allowing the parents to pursue the opportunity to take their child to Italy, or anywhere else seems harsh, and tragic.

 

The State is a jealous god.

 

I was reading an interesting article in Spirit Digest today about the problem and the evil of abortion.

From what the article says; It is prayer, the Holy Mass, Rosaries that are the necessary tools needed to chase the demons and close these murder houses.

I feel the same with regard to the problem of parents and their right to seek a second medial opinion for their child. We are dealing with Spiritual War, and Spiritual Weapons are the means to restore civilised Christian order.

It is scary to see Pope, Prelates, Politicians, Judges and those in authority behave as if chaos is the new norm. And the only thing that makes sense to me is; we must be dealing with Principalities and Powers that are primarily not in the physical plane. That is of course not yet. Because the next phase of chaos seems to be hell on earth, or more commonly called war.

Our job as foot soldiers for Christ is to use the weapons He has given us. Confession, Holy Communion, Rosary, Fasting, Prayer. And it is well to note that the first fast is to put a guard on our tongue in the manner we speak. How can we honestly receive Eucharistic Jesus in the same mouth we use to berate those in authority over us. We can and must pray more. The more we see and the more we understand the chaos around us the more we are called to pray.

That is my humble practising cradle Catholic opinion. Of course I may be too old fashioned, and my Faith is just some old out of date attitude that needs to be silenced. Who knows.

Anyway, here is the link I was posting about.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/f...-wizard-fight-abortion-with-spiritual-weapons

 

Great article Julia
I’m sending it to my pro-life leader at my church
Thanks so much!

 

What you say is absolutely true, Julia, but are we not ourselves spiritual beings within the world? Are we not called upon to admonish sinners? All merely human authority is to some degree corrupt.It is a difficult conundrum to know where to draw the line. Perhaps there are different lines for different people. Churchill, for example, was hardly perfect, but far from so corrupt to abrogate his authority, but wasn't it a duty of the human race to resist Hitler? It was also a duty to resist Mao, for example, but the human race didn't and the cost was enormous and continues to grow.

 

God lovingly made us all to be different and we are called to do different things.
Praying and fasting are certainly our strong weapons, but look at the saints, and we can see that they have acted differently according to God's will for each individual.

examples would be St Joan of Arc, St Catherine of Siena, St Athanasius.....

 

Booklady,

I found another article about little Alfie and I thought that you and others might be interested. The article is very well done imo and they include all of their sources at the bottom of the article. The article states that a second opinion was sought out, I wasn't sure that I read this anywhere else. In addition, I am not certain that I have seen the statement regarding The Catholic Association that FSSPX News has included here,

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Alfie Evans Dies at Liverpool Hospital
April 28, 2018 By fsspx.news http://fsspx.news/en/news-events/news/alfie-evans-dies-liverpool-hospital-37431

“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 2:30,” announced the little boy’s father on Facebook. Alfie’s death at the hospital, despite the repeated appeals from the pope and the Italian government to transfer him to Rome, brought to a close a week of intense struggle both in the media and in the courts.

When the hospital of Liverpool switched off little 23-month-old British Alfie Evans’ artificial respiration on April 23, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., Rome granted the young patient the Italian nationality on the same day, in a last minute attempt to save the child from programmed death.

The Italian government hoped this concession would make an immediate transfer to the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome possible. The hospital offered to take him in at the express request of Pope Francis, who asked them to do “the possible and the impossible” to transfer the child. But all in vain. Mariella Enoc, president of the Bambino Gesù Hospital, traveled to Liverpool to be with Alfie’s parents, but was not received by the hospital authorities: “I feel how powerless I am. The hospital knows that I am here, but they said they cannot see me,” she told the TV channel of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

“We can care for [Alfie]. There will be no therapeutic obstinacy; our doctors have decided they would give the child a PEG (feeding tube) and a tracheotomy for his breathing if necessary. And we could further the diagnosis, since his sickness has not yet been precisely diagnosed,” she declared a few days before her arrival in the United Kingdom.

Condemned by the Judges

On the afternoon of April 23, Tom Evans, Alfie’s father, announced that the Italian Ambassador to Great Britain would be meeting with Judge Anthony Hayden that evening. Nonetheless, after the meeting, the magistrate confirmed the previous legal decision to turn off the artificial respiration.

Around the same time, Pope Francis intervened publicly with a message on Twitter: “Moved by the prayers and immense solidarity shown little Alfie Evans, I renew my appeal that the suffering of his parents may be heard and that their desire to seek new forms of treatment may be granted,” he wrote.

On the evening of April 23, at 10:17 p.m., Alfie’s breathing apparatus was removed. The little boy immediately began showing signs of suffering. Alfie’s father had to spend hours fighting for care to be given to his child: “They left him for six hours without food, water and oxygen,” Tom Evans explained to the Daily Mirror.

On April 24, 2018, late in the afternoon, another appeal from Alfie’s parents was rejected by Judge Hayden, who confirmed that his sentence would be the “final chapter in the case of this extraordinary little boy": Alfie had to die and could not leave for Rome as the Italian government and Pope Francis requested.

That same day, journalists for LifeSite revealed, with proof on hand, that the magistrate belongs to a group of homosexual activists known as BLAGG – Judge Hayden is also the co-author or a book on children and gay parenthood. Given this judge’s militant opposition to Christian morality, the American pro-life information website questioned the impartiality of his judgment.

But another rebound came later that evening: the Evans family lawyer obtained an emergency examination of his appeal in the Court of Appeals for the next day. In the meantime, the Evans family shared on social media on the morning of April 25: “They told us our son would not last five minutes without artificial ventilation; it’s been 36 hours now.” The pessimistic prognosis of the hospital’s doctors was clearly proven wrong.

On the evening of April 25, the Court of Appeals announced that the last appeals were rejected. The direction of the Alder Hey Hospital then released a statement denouncing the pressure being put on its staff.

A Hostage of the Hospital

The next morning, April 26, Tom Evans declared before the cameras of Tv2000 that his son was “a hostage of the hospital,” and thanked Italy for its help in trying to save his child, who was “neither dying nor brain-dead” according to a Polish doctor, who even claimed that the hospital doctors had “misdiagnosed” him.

The same day, Bishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool flew to Rome where he was received for an audience with the Holy Father; he defended the hospital’s good faith and professionalism, and even went so far as to criticize the supporters of the Evans family and their arguments. The Catholic Association voiced its disappointment: “It is appalling and disappointing to see the British Catholic hierarchy abandon the social doctrine of the Church.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a statement on April 25 requesting “alternative care” for the child.

Alfie Evans is far from all of this now. Passing away on the morning of April 28, 2018, the young baptized Catholic entered Paradise to be with Christ and all of the saints in Heaven.

Sources: Daily Mirror / Zenit / LifeSite / Daily Express / Tv2000 / FSSPX.News – 4/28/2018
*****
Edited to add: Two more links to articles.

I know that the video contained in the first article was already posted on this thread but I thought some members might be interested in this article also,

Video From Alder Hey Hospital: “They’re Covering Something Up Big” by Steve Skojec April 25, 2018
https://onepeterfive.com/video-from-alder-hey-hospital-theyre-covering-something-up-big/

New video of Alfie Evans on ‘execution’ day shows lively and alert toddler by Diane Montagna April 23, 2018
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/n...alert-alfie-evans-on-the-day-he-was-scheduled

 

I apologize if these were posted already but they are a few of the sources for the article in the previous post,
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Alfie Evans update: Catholic Association demands Alfie is released to Italy
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/9...s-Catholic-Associate-Alder-Hey-Hospital-Italy
ALFIE Evans’ story has touched the hearts of millions around the world and The Catholic Association has now called on British authorities to allow the terminally ill toddler to travel to Italy for further treatment. By Sebastian Kettley 4/26/2018

Dr Grazie Pozo Christie, policy advisor for The Catholic Association (TCA), said he does not understand why UK hospitals have not rallied behind Alfie’s transfer to Italy.

Alfie’s parents had hoped they could transport their son to Rome, where Bambino Gesu Hospital has offered to provide care for the 23-month-old.

However Alfie, who suffers a degenerative neurological disorder, was stopped from leaving the country out of his “best interests” the High Court ruled.

Dr Pozo blasted the decision arguing the state has left Alfie to wither away without medical treatment.

He said: “The plight of Alfie Evans and his young parents has horrified people across the world who are watching as a powerful state withholds water and oxygen from a sick toddler, against the wishes of his desperate mother and father.

“Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome, at the behest of Pope Francis, is ready and willing to care for the child – not promising a cure, which may not exist, but respecting their parental judgment and offering to accompany both Alfie and his family through this tragic situation.

“Why UK hospital authorities are standing in the way is beyond comprehension.”

Alfie's life support was switched off on Monday April 23, following a court ruling and after medical experts at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital agreed the boy was in a “semi-vegetative state”.

Doctors presented their findings to the High Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals on numerous occasions, the doctors and judges agreed Alfie’s condition was too far developed for the boy to ever lead a normal life.

The ruling has been unsuccessfully challenged time and time again by parents Tome Evans and Kate James, who have been supported by the likes of Pope Francis himself.

The Pope, who met Mr Evans at a personal audience earlier this month, argued the power of life and death resides only in the hands of God.

Members of TCA have now backed this sentiment and stand firmly behind the family in their quest to provide their ill son with palliative care.
Ashley McGuire, senior fellow at TCA, argued that as Catholics it is their duty to place the decision about Alfie’s life into his parent’s hands.

She said: “Alfie Evans deserves a chance to live. That is what his parents are advocating for, and the global community stands with them as evidenced by the worldwide outpouring of support for their family.

“The world is horrified as Alfie is held hostage in a hospital against the wishes of his parents.

“As Catholics, we know the ethics surrounding end of life issues are complex and nuanced, but we defer to parental judgment regarding their children.

“We are grateful to the Holy Father for his leadership in support the Evans family and call on the government of the UK to intervene and respect their rights and those of their son as he miraculously defies the odds.”

Alfie’s father revealed today his son “does not need intensive care” when he spoke about his son’s condition since having his ventilators unplugged.

Tom Evans said: “Alfie does not need intensive care – Alfie is lying on the bed with one litre of oxygen going to his lungs and the rest is him.

“Some people say it’s a miracle – it’s not a miracle its a misdiagnosis.

"There's no miracle about this – I’ve had a feeling about Alfie’s condition for a long time now and I’ve always said I struggle to believe it’s a neurodegenerative disease.

"He’s been off a ventilator for three days now and there’s been no deterioration. He hasn’t woke up and he is a bit weak but we ask to go home.”

Alfie’s parents are hopeful Alder Hey chiefs will let them take their son home after the High Court ruled on Tuesday the boy cannot leave the country but could instead be potentially taken home.

Alfie Evans is not ‘dying’ or ‘brain-dead,’ he’s been misdiagnosed: Polish doctor
Dorothy Cummings McLean Thu Apr 26, 2018 - 7:54 am EST https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/a...rain-dead-hes-been-misdiagnosed-polish-doctor
alder hey children's hospital, alfie evans, izabela pałgan
POLAND, April 26, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A Polish doctor has stated that UK toddler Alfie Evans is not “dying” and is certainly not “brain-dead.”

Dr. Izabela Pałgan, a pediatrician and children’s oncologist from Bydgoszcz in Poland, told Radio Wnet April 25 that in her professional opinion, doctors at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool where Alfie is being kept are misdiagnosing the boy.

“Doctors at the hospital in Liverpool asked the court to agree to the separation of the infant from life-support, on the grounds that it would be in the 'best interests' of the child. The infant is not a dying child. He is not brain-dead,” she said, as reported by Polish news portal Fronda.pl.

Pałgan said that Alfie’s brain scans do not show that he is in a “terminal state.” They do not, for example, show the state of his brain stem, she said.

“The child reacts to the voice of his father, he periodically opens his eyes, he tightens his mouth around his soother. The parents insist that he is making contact with them,” she added.

Videos taken by the family and posted to Facebook show the toddler yawning, making eye contact, responding to voice, sucking his dummy.

The child, who is lying ill in Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospital, is at the center of a dispute between his parents, the British courts, and the hospital. The hospital and the courts have decided that the child is terminally ill and that it is in his “best interests” to die. His parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, disagree.

Dr. Pałgan claims to have examined Alfie in Britain some time ago at the request of Alfie’s parents. They had asked for second opinions.

A court order had Alfie removed from his ventilator on April 23 just after 9:00 PM. He defied everyone’s expectations by breathing on his own. He has now been breathing on his own for over 60 hours. Parents Tom and Kate have fought every step of the way since this time to secure oxygen, water, and food for their son. They would like to take him for treatment in Italy, but the courts have consistently ruled against that.

The Polish doctor said that the fact that Alfie can breathe on his own, coupled with his MRI, prove that he is not in a terminal state.

She said it appears that Alfie has been “imprisoned” by the hospital.

“That child is imprisoned there,” she said. “They refused to allow the parents to transfer their child to other hospitals that offered help. It’s a violation of human rights, of the rights to live, the rights of parents. It’s unthinkable.”

The Polish doctor’s comments come two days after a group of UK doctors condemned Alder Hey Hospital for its “medical tyranny.”

“We are deeply concerned and outraged by the treatment and care offered to Alfie Evans,” the doctors wrote.

“Actions such as these have now brought the Alder Hey Hospital to worldwide attention and by extension bring our whole profession into disrepute.”

Stating that “medical tyranny must stop”, the doctors demanded that British authorities allow Alfie safe passage to Rome. They also demand an investigation into Alfie’s doctors’ conduct.

Tom Evans said this morning that his son does not need intensive care and at least should be allowed to go home.

He indicated that yesterday’s court battle, where a panel of three judges upheld previous rulings forbidding the family from taking their son for treatment in Italy, might be the last one.

“We got rejected yesterday to go to Italy unfortunately. We could take it further but would that be the right thing to do, would there be more criticism?” Tom told reporters.

“So what we do today is we have a meeting with the doctors at Alder Hey and we now start asking to go home,” he continued.

“Alfie doesn’t need intensive care any more. Alfie is lying on the bed with one liter of oxygen going into his lungs and the rest is him. Some people say it’s a miracle, it’s not a miracle, it’s a misdiagnosis.”

 

The Catholic Association voices support for Alfie Evans' parents
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...-voices-support-for-alfie-evans-parents-61141
Washington D.C., Apr 26, 2018 / 11:42 am- A group dedicated to offering a Catholic voice in the public square has spoken out on behalf of Alfie Evans and his parents, as the court battle surrounding the toddler continues.

“The Catholic faithful along with citizens of good will around the world have rallied and stood with the Pope and with Alfie and his parents in defending their rights and defending the beauty of Catholic social teaching – which expressly condemns exactly what the U.K. government is doing: denying Alfie’s parents their rights to what is best for their child and forcing the child to suffer in his last moments,” said Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association.

In an April 26 statement, McGuire thanked Pope Francis for his leadership and called on UK Catholics “to join him in standing for Church teaching.”

The Catholic Association, a group that is “dedicated to being a faithful Catholic voice in the public square,” voiced support for the parents of British toddler Alfie Evans, who has been at the center of a months-long court battle.

Just shy of two years old, the young boy is in what physicians have described as a “semi-vegetative state” due to a mysterious degenerative neurological condition that doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, England have not been able to properly diagnose. He has been hospitalized since December of 2016.

Although Italian officials have granted Alfie citizenship and a Vatican-linked hospital has offered to take the toddler for further diagnosis and treatment, UK courts have repeatedly refused to allow the transfer, ruling that it is not in the child’s best interest.

With permission of the court, but against the will of Alfie’s parents, the hospital earlier this week removed Alfie’s ventilator and withheld food and water from the child.

Although the toddler was only expected to live for a few minutes, he was able to breathe on his own for a number of hours, until doctors administered oxygen and hydration. They later administered nutrition as well, after the boy went almost 24 hours without food, according to Alfie’s father.

Rallies in support of Alfie’s parents have been held in London, Washington, D.C., New York, the Vatican.

Pope Francis has also been outspoken about supporting the child’s parents.

The pope, who met with Alfie’s father last week, has offered public prayers for Alfie and his family several times, including at a general audience and in several Twitter posts.

“Moved by the prayers and immense solidarity shown little Alfie Evans, I renew my appeal that the suffering of his parents may be heard and that their desire to seek new forms of treatment may be granted,” he said on Twitter Monday.

The Catholic Association has spoken out several times in recent days in support of Alfie’s parents.

“Agonizing medical decisions for a child should be made by the two people who love him the most, those who brought him into the world and are uniquely bonded to him and entrusted with his care -- his parents,” said Maureen Malloy Ferguson, senior policy advisor for the organization. “For the government of the U.K. to usurp the paternal and maternal role in the Alfie Evans case, and to override their wishes to bring him elsewhere for treatment, is nothing short of chilling.”

“Throughout history, civil authorities recognize that parents, not the government, should make decisions for the well-being of their children,” said Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, legal advisor for The Catholic Association Foundation. “Alfie's mom and dad, Tom Evans and Kate James, are not willing to accept their government's plan to remove life support (including withholding nutrition and oxygen) from their almost two-year-old son.”

“Instead, they want to take advantage of the generous offer of the Italian government to fly their baby to the Vatican's Bambino Gesù hospital for additional care at the Italian government’s expense,” he continued. “Alfie’s parents should be free to choose alternative, life giving care for their child.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story failed to meet CNA editorial standards and was retracted. CNA apologizes for that error.

Tags: Catholic News, Parental Rights, Alfie Evans
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In addition, there are several copies of CNA's retracted article on the internet. Here is one of the copies, I highlighted the text that was modified/removed/replaced in dark red,
******
The Catholic Association voices support for Alfie Evans' parents
http://www.setonchurch.org/the-catholic-association-voices-support-for-alfie-evans-parents/
Washington D.C., Apr 26, 2018 / 11:42 am - A group dedicated to offering a Catholic voice in the public square has spoken out on behalf of Alfie Evans and his parents, as the court battle surrounding the toddler continues.

“It’s confusing and disappointing to see the Catholic leadership in the U.K., both the bishops and lay leaders like Austen Ivereigh of Catholic Voices U.K., abandon Catholic social teaching and split from the Pope by defending the government instead of Alfie and his family,” said Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association.

“The Church has long been the first and only voice to speak out for truth and defend the vulnerable. True to that legacy, the Pope spoke out in defense of Alfie Evans and the fundamental human rights of his parents to do all they can to save the life of their child.”

In an April 26 statement, McGuire thanked Pope Francis for his leadership and called on UK Catholics “to join him in standing for Church teaching.”

The Catholic Association, a group that is “dedicated to being a faithful Catholic voice in the public square,” voiced support for the parents of British toddler Alfie Evans, who has been at the center of a months-long court battle.

Just shy of two years old, the young boy is in what physicians have described as a “semi-vegetative state” due to a mysterious degenerative neurological condition that doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, England have not been able to properly diagnose. He has been hospitalized since December of 2016.

Although Italian officials have granted Alfie citizenship and a Vatican-linked hospital has offered to take the toddler for further diagnosis and treatment, UK courts have repeatedly refused to allow the transfer, ruling that it is not in the child’s best interest.

With permission of the court, but against the will of Alfie’s parents, the hospital earlier this week removed Alfie’s ventilator and withheld food and water from the child.

Although the toddler was only expected to live for a few minutes, he was able to breathe on his own for a number of hours, until doctors administered oxygen and hydration. They later administered nutrition as well, after the boy went almost 24 hours without food, according to Alfie’s father.

Local Archbishop Malcolm McMahon has defended the hospital, saying that it has done “everything humanly possible” for Alfie. UK commentator and co-founder of Catholic Voices Austen Ivereigh also defended the arguments of the courts on Twitter.

Pope Francis, however, has been outspoken about supporting the child’s parents.

The pope, who met with Alfie’s father last week, has offered public prayers for Alfie and his family several times, including at a general audience and in several Twitter posts.

“Moved by the prayers and immense solidarity shown little Alfie Evans, I renew my appeal that the suffering of his parents may be heard and that their desire to seek new forms of treatment may be granted,” he said on Twitter Monday.

Rallies in support of Alfie’s parents have been held in London, Washington, D.C., New York, and other locations in recent days.

“The Catholic faithful along with citizens of good will around the world have rallied and stood with the Pope and with Alfie and his parents in defending their rights and defending the beauty of Catholic social teaching – which expressly condemns exactly what the U.K. government is doing: denying Alfie’s parents their rights to what is best for their child and forcing the child to suffer in his last moments,” McGuire said in her statement.

“The parents of Alfie Evans have a natural right to accept the Vatican hospital’s offer to try to extend the life of Alfie and provide more humane car,” added Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, policy advisor for The Catholic Association. “Baby Alfie and his parents should not be prisoners of a British hospital.”

“The failure of the British Catholic Bishops and so-called leaders like Catholic Voices of England to recognize these simple and basic truths is disgusting and shameful,” she continued. “We urge all faithful Catholics to stand with Pope Francis, who called on the British government to allow Baby Alfie’s parents to seek the alternative treatment that has been generously offered.”

 

Here are two new articles from LifeSiteNews about Alfie (& Syria),

The Syria conflict and Alfie Evans case reveal some surprising things about the Church
by Claire Chretien https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinio...vans-case-show-some-surprising-things-about-t
alfie evans, catholic, england, pope francis, syria

May 1, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. airstrike in Syria and the Alfie Evans case showed prominent critics of Pope Francis defying the stereotypes that they are always aligned with “right-wing” politics or always in disagreement with the pope.

In early April, a coalition of Catholics who would typically be labeled “conservative” or “traditionalist” formed to oppose Trump’s announcement that he would use military force against Syria. They wrote an anti-war plea asking world leaders to “do everything in their power to stop this cycle of civil and imperial wars” and therefore not exacerbate Middle East conflicts, which they said an air strike on Syria would do.

“We, the undersigned, hereby make public our resistance against President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will, within the next hours or days, retaliate militarily against the sovereign state of Syria, with the argument that the Syrian government is guilty of the use of chemical weapons against civilians in the Ghouta region on 8 April,” their petition read.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Dr. Josef Seifert, Dr. Claudio Pierantoni, OnePeterFive’s Steve Skojec, Matt Gaspers of Catholic Family News, and LifeSiteNews co-founder John-Henry Westen – all of whom have raised concerns with the current papacy and Amoris Laetitia – signed that early April statement. These are people who are often characterized as “far-right” or aligned with American conservatism and its foreign policy hawkishness.

Apparently not.

Meanwhile, as Alder Hey Children’s Hospital fought to end Alfie Evans’ life, Pope Francis and some of his critics agreed that the little toddler should be allowed to live and be treated in Italy.

Pope Francis readied a military plane to bring the sick boy to Italy, where the Bambino Gesu hospital was prepared to care for him. The pontiff met with Alfie’s father Tom Evans; he tweeted in support of Alfie, just like he did when little Charlie Gard was facing similar state-sanctioned death by hospital.

The same Catholics who want Pope Francis to answer the dubia and stop bringing pro-abortion speakers to the Vatican – for example, the newly-established John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family – agreed with the pope that Alfie should be given a chance.

God bless Pope Francis! He may think that abortion and immigration are of equal moral importance, that Catholic teaching on marriage and the Eucharist can be changed, and that liturgical innovations are perfectly alright. Some of his statements and actions are more than just a little troubling.

But when it comes to ripping a little boy away from his loving parents and delivering him into the hands of power-tripping statists, Pope Francis is 100 percent solid. His instincts seem completely Catholic on this one.

But some who are seen as the biggest supporters of the Francis pontificate, like the UK bishops (some of whom have a reputation for spinelessness and leftism) and Austen Ivereigh, seemed to disagree with Pope Francis on this issue. The Archbishop of Liverpool even flew to Rome to urge Pope Francis to support the hospital over Alfie’s parents.

Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, also supported Alder Hey ending Alfie’s life.

(The priest providing spiritual support to the Evans family wasn’t even British; he was Italian. One wonders what the parish priests in the Liverpool area are up to.)

Boston College Professor Jesuit “Father [John] Paris believes that, as in the Charlie Gard case which generated similar controversy and a previous intervention by Francis, the pope’s pastoral intentions in his outreach to the Evans family have been interpreted incorrectly as a signal that therapeutic treatment could be available to Alfie,” America magazine reported.

The Jesuit publication then went on to quote Paris and another priest as supporting the Alder Hey staff for acting “in the best interest of their patient” (by trying to end his life). They are “being unjustly pilloried for it.”

That article also ironically declared “U.S. and U.K. law have established that parental rights over children are not absolute; children are not chattel.”

It would seem that the bigger problem in the Western world is governments being given “absolute” power over children and therefore treating them like “chattel.”
View attachment 7786
View attachment 7787
There was no “mercy” for little Alfie, only for the cruel hospital bureaucrats who wanted him dead.

 

Alfie Evans was given 4 drugs just before he died: report
Dorothy Cummings McLean https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/alfie-evans-was-given-4-drugs-just-before-he-died-report
alder hey children's hospital, alfie evans

LIVERPOOL, May 1, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – UK toddler Alfie Evans allegedly died within hours of receiving four different drugs from a nurse at Alder Hey hospital, Italian media is reporting. The information that Alfie was given four injections has also been obtained by LifeSiteNews from two different sources with connections to the Evans family.

Alfie Evans died in Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospital on Saturday morning at 2:30 AM. According to Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, a nurse entered the child’s cubicle after his father Tom had been called aside and gave him four drugs. A source close to the family told LifeSiteNews that these were injections that were administered to Alfie after Tom had been summoned for an unusual middle-of-the-night meeting with the hospital. The child died two hours later.

It remains unclear why the alleged injections were given. The Evans family did not respond to LifeSiteNews’ request for comment.

Medical advisors to LifeSiteNews said they could not understand why the child would be given four separate drugs. One or two drugs could be explained as an attempt to sedate the child or administer painkillers, if he were in distress. Four, however, seemed to them mysterious. They recommend that an independent toxicology report be performed.

Alder Hey hospital doctors had previously conveyed to the Evans’ family in a legal document how they intended to use a drug cocktail that included Midazolam and Fentanyl as part of Alfie’s “end of life care plan.” Side effects of the drugs included respiratory depression. Tom Evans called it an “execution plan” for his son.

On the night of Monday, April 23, Alfie was suddenly removed from a ventilator and his life-supporting tubes. He had been on the ventilator for 15 months, and was unused to breathing on his own. He also had a lung infection, which would have required antibiotics to heal. Nevertheless, he managed to breathe independently, and continued to do so for more than 100 hours.

Tom Evans argued that the court order leading to Alfie’s extubation did not extend to depriving the child of oxygen and nutrition, and the child was permitted low levels of oxygen and, after 36 hours without nutrition, was fed.

La Nuova Bussola states that Alfie was given more life support in exchange for his father Tom’s promise not to speak any more to the press.

The day prior to Alfie’s death, Tom Evans read to the press outside the hospital what is now being called by many a “hostage letter.” In what appeared to be a forced statement, Tom read out a letter calling all the supporters of Alfie to go home and resume their lives. He thanked the hospital staff for their care of Alfie, even though just hours earlier he had attempted to have them charged with conspiracy to murder his son. He also praised the hospital staff for their dignity and professionalism, even though the day before he said they were treating his son worse than an animal and felt like he was in a jail.

“To silence the press, the hospital promised Thomas more oxygen and more life-support,” Frigerio continued. “Two hours before death, [Alfie’s] oxygen saturation was at around 98, and Alfie’s heartbeat was around 160, so Thomas was convinced that he would be allowed to go home (as the hospital administration had told him on Friday afternoon).”

However, it is alleged that the child’s health declined rapidly after a nurse gave him four injections.

“Before he died, while Tom was away for a moment, leaving Kate [Alfie’s mother] half-asleep and another family member in the room, a nurse entered and explained that she would give the child four drugs (no-one knows which) to treat him,” Frigerio wrote.

She continued: “After about 30 minutes the [oxygen] saturation had fallen to 15. After two hours Alfie was dead.”

The Nuova Bussola reporter, who was material in setting up an appointment between Tom Evans and Pope Francis, observed that she could not be sure that Alfie’s life ended only because he was removed from life-support.

 

Calvin Freiburger NewsFamily, Politics - World
UK Prime Minister: ‘Important’ that ‘experts’ decided Alfie Evans’ fate
alder hey children's hospital, alfie evans, theresa may https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uk-prime-minister-important-that-experts-decided-alfie-evans-fate

MANCHESTER, May 1, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May has finally weighed in on the Alfie Evans case, offering condolences to the family but ultimately siding with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

During a visit to Brooklands Primary School in Sale, Greater Manchester on Monday, May received a question as to whether she would support Alfie’s Law, legislation proposed by British Member of European Parliament Steven Woolfe to restore parental rights over medical decisions in similar cases.

Alfie died Saturday at Alder Hey, which had removed his ventilator five days earlier in defiance of his parents’ wishes. Alfie’s doctors said he had an undiagnosed and untreatable neurological condition that caused serious and irreparable brain damage.

For months, parents Tom Evans and Kate James fought the hospital in court to keep him alive and transfer him to a willing hospital in Italy, but were denied at every turn. The 23-month-old boy’s second birthday would have been May 9.

“The MEP Steven Wolff is campaigning for Alfie’s Law, which would give parents the final say over their child’s life. Is that something you would potentially support or get behind?” a reporter from Global Radio asked. The prime minister didn’t answer, but spoke more generally about the case.

“It’s a tragic case, all of us feel enormously for the parents of Alfie,” May said. “This is a great tragedy to have to go through, the death of a child and particularly to see this happen in this way.”

At the same time, however, she maintained it was “important that decisions about medical support that are given to children and to others are made by clinicians who are expert in that matter.”

Last summer, May refused to intervene in the similar case of Charlie Gard, another sick UK infant who died at the age of eleven months after authorities denied his parents the opportunity to seek treatment outside the country.

“[N]o doctor ever wants to be placed in the terrible position where they have to make such heartbreaking decisions," May claimed at the time. “I'm confident that Great Ormond Street Hospital have and always will consider any offers or new information that has come forward with consideration of the well-being of a desperately ill child."

Last week, Tom Evans told the Daily Star that May “could be doing so much more to save my Alfie,” but lamented that she was “not interested in one of the biggest priorities that could potentially cause uproar for this country in the future.”

“That’s the way we treat children with disabilities in this country,” Evans said. “We’ve tried everything to reach out to the government. Through MEPs, everything.”

Woolfe, who has repeatedly advocated for Alfie throughout the ordeal, penned an op-ed on Saturday in The Independent making the case for Alfie’s Law.

He explained that it would give parents an impartial advocate to represent their interests from the beginning of any decision-making process, provide financial aid if legal appeals become necessary, and guarantees parents the right to a second opinion from a medical professional of their choice, who is independent from the British National Health Service and whose assessment must carry equal weight in court.

“We cannot go on treating parents as bystanders, little more than unrelated and largely unwanted visitors when it comes to the decisions made by doctors and the courts,” Woolfe wrote. “The government has the power to act, and it must do so.”

****
Alfie Evans, the State, and Us
By Howard Sachs April 29, 2018
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/04/alfie_evans_the_state_and_us.html#ixzz5EToUQUlF

 

Cardinal Vincent Nichols

Mom writes scathing letter to top UK cardinal for not supporting Alfie Evans and his parents
Claire Chretien https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/m...-top-uk-cardinal-for-not-supporting-alfie-and
alder hey children's hospital, alfie evans, vincent nichols

ENGLAND, May 3, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – “Cardinal Nichols, this is the culture of death, and you are supporting it,” a mother of three wrote in an open letter to the highest-ranking UK prelate about his response to the Alfie Evans case and the parental rights and bioethics issues that accompanied it.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols made headlines at the end of April for saying Alder Hey Children’s Hospital acted in Alfie Evans’ best interests. The toddler, despite the wishes of the parents, was removed from his ventilator and died five days later.

Nichols said the courts, not Alfie’s parents, were right to be able to decide on the toddler’s care or lack thereof: “It’s very hard to act in a child’s best interest when this isn’t always as the parents would wish – and this is why a court must decide what’s best not for the parents, but for the child.”

“This is truly one of the most disturbing things I have ever heard a Cardinal say,” vestment maker and Catholic blogger Clare Short (not to be confused with the former MP of the same name) wrote in her open letter. “How is it possible that a Catholic Cardinal can side with those who have stripped the parents of all their authority, so they can legally end their child’s life?”

“As a mother of 3 children, I can now see you have no desire to defend my rights as a parent, which are being further and further eroded away by the state,” Short continued. “It is becoming more and more apparent that you were quite happy to sacrifice Alfie Evans and his parents on the altar of political correctness rather than stand up to an increasingly totalitarian state.”

“It is time to decide where your heart really lies,” she wrote.

Short noted:

You told the Polish Bishops last week that “When we discuss the Church’s doctrine here (UK), we must often construct a dialogue on arguments about society’s common good.” Now for someone who said a few moments before, that “Unfortunately, there were also some who used the (Alfie) situation for political aims.” [T[his seems like a very political thing to say. It sounds like to me that you are trying to fit into the politically correct narrative of UK politics. Is this the case? If it is then we really are all in trouble.

Your comments seem to suggest that you felt that Alfie Evans’ death was in his best interests and the interest of society. The “experts” no doubt informed you that it was. But what do you regard as being “society’s’ common good”?

...The British medical system and courts determined that Alfie had to die because of the working assumption that death is preferable to life for disabled people. This utilitarian concept is why you felt that it was in Alfie’s best interests that he should die. I say this because you criticised those trying to save Alfie stating that they “didn’t serve the good of this child”.

It is becoming increasingly clear that you do not oppose this utilitarian ethical ideology.​

Short said that vague statements from the UK Catholic bishops in 2013 about the Liverpool Care Pathway not being “inherently unethical” but just “badly implemented” show the embrace of the culture of death. The Liverpool Care Pathway was an “end-of-life protocol” that many denounced as a form of passive euthanasia.

READ: English Cardinal supports hospital’s decision to end Alfie Evans’ life

Short also detailed some of the mistreatment Alfie and his parents received from Alder Hey, the unjust removal of the Italian priest who was spiritually supporting the Evans family at the hospital, and the UK hierarchy’s failed, pro-government approach to the case.

“If you decide to continue compromising the faith in order to fit in with the modern values of secularism and utilitarianism, you will remain popular with your powerful friends but you will cause further harm to the Church and to society,” she wrote. “With respect, I must remind you that your ambition, popularity and your career come second to your vocation as servant of Christ and the Church...Forgive me for saying so, but if you are unable or unwilling to lead us in this fight, then you need to pass the baton to someone who will, because we are at crisis point.”

“We are all praying for you,” she concluded.

Editor's note: The open letter can be read in full here.


Tue May 1, 2018 - 4:06 pm EST
Vatican Secretary of State: It was ‘incomprehensible’ to block Alfie Evans’ removal to Italy [Cardinal Pietro Parolin]
By Lisa Bourne


Tue May 1, 2018 - 12:40 pm EST
Archbishop Paglia fails Alfie Evans
by Judie Brown

Mon Apr 30, 2018 - 1:45 pm EST
‘Absolutely heartbreaking’: Pope, politicians, pro-life leaders react to Alfie Evans’ death
By Calvin Freiburger

Mon Apr 30, 2018 - 11:32 am EST
Open letter to UK bishops: Your response to Alfie Evans was an ‘abject failure’
By Diane Montagna