'It's the end,' says Archie Battersbee's mother after ECHR rejects last-ditch appeal
Archie Battersbee's parents have lost a last-minute appeal to the European Court of Human Rights for his life support to continue, as his mother appeared to admit the legal battle is at an end.
Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee were denied an application on Wednesday that would have forced Barts Health NHS Trust to postpone the withdrawal of Archie's life support.
The rejection by the ECHR came after the Supreme Court refused to force the hospital to carry on with treatment.
Ms Dance had released a statement following the ruling, repeating her vow to "fight to the end for Archie's right to live" and suggesting the family could mount a new legal challenge so that Archie could receive treatment abroad.
However, asked by reporters outside Archie's hospital whether this defeat felt different, she said: "It's the end. It was the last thing, wasn't it? And again our country has failed a 12-year-old child.
"We've now got a fight to see whether we can get him out of here to have a dignified passing at a hospice."
She added: "I would like him out of this hospital. He came to this hospital to have an operation, this hospital failed him.
"So, I would like him out of here as quick as possible really. And in a peaceful hospice to say goodbye and spend time with his family, uninterrupted by the noise and chaos."
