[rightwingcrazy]

“The bottom line, to be frank, is that parents cannot treat their child like an item of personal property with untrammelled liberty, or else there would be no laws against child abuse or cruelty. The issue before the courts was the pain and welfare of Alfie, no more or less.”

Sophistry. If the issue were “property”, the courts have just ruled that children are the property of the State. Is that better? Does it really have to be stated that parents are naturally bound to the child that they gave birth to? That both inherent rights and responsibilities arise from that relationship? That interference by the State in their pursuit of the child’s welfare is fundamentally unjust?

[Mrs. Don-o]

The hospital officials (or maybe it was that last odious judge) said that worst case scenario was that Alfie's parents would accept Italy's offer to fly him to Gesu Bambino Hospital at the Vatican, which has already completed all the pre-admission arrangements.

Get that. The worst case wasn't that he'd die. The worst case was that he'd fly.