12/11/2023 4:52 p.m., updated 12/11/2023 4:52 p.m
Doctors in the United Kingdom switched off the life support equipment of an 8monthold baby this Sunday (December 11). Indi Gregory suffers from a serious and incurable illness.
Indi suffers from mitochondrial disease, a rare and incurable condition in which cells do not produce enough energy for the body to function properly. She had been on life support since early September.
The baby also has heart problems and underwent surgery on his intestines and skull after his birth in February.
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Indi’s parents, Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, have launched a legal battle against the hospital where the girl is admitted in an attempt to continue to provide her with medical care. But the British Court of Appeal rejected the challenge in a hearing on Friday (October 11).
Doctors at Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham claimed the child was in distress and living in pain and fear. The condition would not warrant further treatment.
The court decision also noted that the treatment was interrupted in a hospital and not at home, as requested by the parents, as they considered it safer for the child.
According to the group Christian Concern, which is supporting the family, the baby was taken from the hospital to a palliative care unit by ambulance and a security escort.
“She stopped breathing last night and then started again,” the group said.
Baby treatment in Italy
In October, the family requested that the baby be taken to a Vatican children’s hospital in Rome, but England’s Supreme Court rejected Indi’s parents’ appeal.
Earlier this week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni granted the girl Italian citizenship so she could be transferred to the country for further treatment.
On Saturday (November 11th), the Vatican said in a statement that Pope Francis was turning his thoughts to the baby. “Pope Francis hugs the family of little Indi Gregory, her father and her mother, prays for them and for them and addresses his thoughts to all the children who, in these hours, all over the world are living in pain or risking their lives because of diseases and wars “said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
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