On Thursday, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, the parents of Charlie Gard, the deathly ill child whose case has become an international cause celebre, stormed out of a British court after the judge asserted, “It seems extremely unlikely that we’ll reach the stage today that will make a final determination either way.”
Chris Gard said, “I thought this was supposed to be independent,” according to ITV News. On Monday, Justice Nicholas Francis had stated that he would allow new evidence to be presented challenging earlier rulings agreeing that doctors were correct to remove the child’s life support.
The parents returned an hour later when there was a break in the proceedings.
The Gard family spokesman, Alasdair Seton-Marsden, had said before court started:
We are continuing to spend every moment working around the clock to save our dear baby Charlie. We’ve been requesting this specialized treatment since November and never asked the hospital, the courts or anyone for anything except for the permission to go. We have raised over £1.3 million ($1.7 million) and had invitations from specialized doctors in the U.S. and Italy. We hope that the courts and the judge will finally rule in favor of us seeking treatment elsewhere. We love him more than life itself. If he is still fighting then we are still fighting.
On Wednesday, Seton-Marsden told FOX News that the child, who suffers from MDDS, or mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, was essentially being held “captive.” On Thursday, he noted that seven petitions relating to Charlie Gard had garnered 800,000 signatures.
The hospital where Charlie is being treated, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), said last week it had applied for a new court hearing “in light of claims of new evidence relating to potential treatment for his condition.” The Associated Press reported that the new evidence was offered from researchers at the Vatican’s children’s hospital and another facility outside of Britain.