Britain’s socialised healthcare system was accused of “murder” after a judge ruled Monday in favour of removing life-support from a critically ill baby girl.
Eight-month-old Indi Gregory died in a hospice bed next to her “heartbroken” parents, Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, after a lengthy court battle ultimately came down on the side of doctors who wished to remove the baby girl’s life support.
The young couple were also prevented by the court from seeking the help of private specialists outside of the UK’s socialised healthcare system, preventing them taking their child to Italy to seek life-extending care, and ultimately even from taking their baby home so that she could pass away surrounded by her family.
In a statement, 37-year-old Gregory said: “Indi’s life ended at 1.45 am. Claire and I are angry heartbroken and ashamed.
Dean Gregory, the father of six-month-old Indi Gregory who has mitochondrial disease and is being treated at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, leaves the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
“The NHS and the courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged.
“They did succeed in taking Indi’s body and dignity, but they can never take her soul. They tried to get rid of Indi without anybody knowing, but we made sure she would be remembered forever. I knew she was special from the day she was born.
“Claire held her for her final breaths.”
High Court judge Mr Justice Peel ruled in the case the move by doctors to remove Indi’s life support would be legal and that it would be in the child’s best interests. He went on to rule that the family’s request to have their baby sent to a specialist hospital in Rome would go against the best interests of the child.
The Court of Appeals and judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which the UK is still a part of despite Brexit as it is technically a separate institution from the European Union, sided with Justice Peel.
In response to the decision to block Indi from being sent to her country, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: “We did everything we could, everything possible. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Have a safe trip little Indi.”
National Health Service (NHS) doctors argued that Indi, who was born with a mitochondrial disease, had no chance of survival and therefore extending her life would only serve to cause further pain.
However, Andrea Williams, the chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, the sister organisation of Christian Concern, which aided the family in their legal battle, told London’s Daily Telegraph: “Doctors cannot be compelled to treat a patient against their conscience, but neither should they be the ones to prevent parents who secure specialist medical treatment for their child elsewhere from accessing that help.
“Justice is done in the light and a truly compassionate society protects its most vulnerable.”
Lila Rose, the director of the anti-abortion group Live Action, said: “Let me be clear: the British government murdered her. They denied the right of Indi’s parents to pursue other treatment for her, keeping her captive by the court-mandated medical team that decided Indi must die. The medical team violated their sacred duty to Do No Harm.
“This is murder, plain and simple. It’s a stain on the national conscience of the United Kingdom. There must be a reckoning, there must be reform, and there must be reparations for the evil acts committed by both the medical teams and the UK courts.”