Alder Hey Hospital offers "heartfelt sympathy" to Alfie Evans' devastated parents after toddler dies

The Liverpool hospital, where the toddler's life support was turned off on Monday, said: "All of us feel deeply for Alfie, Kate, Tom and his whole family"

Alder Hey Hospital has expressed its "heartfelt sympathy" to Alfie Evans's devastated parents after the toddler died in the early hours of today.

The Liverpool-based hospital, where little Alfie's life support was turned off on Monday night, posted a statement on its website this morning.

It said: "We wish to express our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to Alfie's family at this extremely distressing time. All of us feel deeply for Alfie, Kate, Tom and his whole family and our thoughts are with them.

"This has been a devastating journey for them and we would ask that their privacy and the privacy of staff at Alder Hey is respected."

The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey, died at 2.30am, five days after his life support was withdrawn.

In an emotional post on Facebook, his dad Tom Evans and mum Kate James announced: "Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart broken. Thankyou everyone for all your support."

In a separate post, Tom, 21, wrote: "My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30... absolutely heartbroken. I LOVE YOU MY GUY."

The couple, both from Liverpool, had fought to take Alfie to a foreign hospital for treatment, but lost a final court appeal on Wednesday.

Doctors had removed the little boy's life support on Monday following a High Court judge's ruling, however he continued to live.

The toddler left medics "gobsmacked" by breathing for himself, according to his dad, who said he was "comfortable" off the ventilator.

Terri Schiavo’s Brother Slams Courts That Condemned Alfie Evans to Death

LIFE NEWS ^ | April 30, 2018 | Steven Ertelt
Posted on 4/30/2018, 11:49:01 AM by Morgana
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3651490/posts

The brother of Terri Schiavo has slammed the British court system that essentially condemned Alfie Evans to death. Bobby Schindler tells LifeNews that courts should never have prevent Afie’s parents from caring for their son, who ultimately died on Saturday less than a week after doctors yanked his life support without their consent.

Bobby Schindler and his family fought a losing uphill battle against the court system that decided Terri was better off dead than living as a disabled patient. He certainly understands what happens when courts and doctors say someone should die.

Alfie Evans ended up dying very early Saturday morning after the children’s hospital that was supposed to provide him with appropriate medical care and treatment disconnected his life support without his parents’ permission. That action came after a long and extensive legal battle between Alfie’s parents and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, with the British court system agreeing with doctors by saying that Alfie was supposedly too far gone for additional care and treatment or experimental medical treatment to possibly help his neurological condition.

Now, Terri Schiavo’s brother Bobby Schinder is weighing in — saying “Alfie captured the attention of millions worldwide, and Tom and Kate Evans, his heroic parents, have embodied the best in parental love and commitment.”

The head of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network told LifeNews: “Like Tom and Kate Evans, I know how terrible it is to be powerless to care for a loved one, but I cannot imagine the unique tragedy of being prevented from caring for a child in the way that the United Kingdom and European Courts barred them from exercising what so many recognize as their basic parental rights to provide care.”

“We will honor Alfie’s memory,” concluded Schindler, “and we will do whatever we can to affirm the value of every life, regardless of condition and the right of every parent to care for their children in a life-affirming way.”

Schindler said he is encouraged by nascent discussion of “Alfie’s Law”, or similar legal reform that would restore to parents the right to provide basic and ordinary care and prohibit national authorities from needlessly substituting their own judgment or otherwise intentionally causing death as if it were a legitimate medical treatment.

The parallels of what happened in the Terri Schiavo case and what happened with little Alfie Evans are scary indeed. In both instances a court system decided that a patient is better off dead and that family ought to have no legal right whatsoever to have a say in their life or death — even if those family members are willing to provide care and treatment for their loved one.

That’s why Schindler weighed in previously on the battle to save Alfie’s life. He said at the time that “Alfie appears set to die from lack of food and water. And perversely, UK courts and physicians continue to insist that this will be in Aflie’s best interest, due to his cognitive state.”

After Terri’s death, Bobby and his family started the Terri Schaivo Life and Hope Network to help other disables patients like her.

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Alfie supposedly suffered from a degenerative neurological condition and administrators at Alder Hey, which is a National Health System Foundation Trust, sought, and received, approval from the High Court to discontinue treatment in direct opposition to the wishes of Alfie’s parents. The High Court’s decision was met with outcry around the world, and was condemned by world leaders including European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, Polish president Andrezej Duda, and Pope Francis.

Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome offered to treat Alfie and he was granted Italian citizenship to expedite his transport to Italy. However, the High Court prohibited Evans and James from removing their son from Alder Hey.

Alfie’s father Tom Evans spent the last 10 minutes of the 23-month-old little boys life desperately trying to revive him with mouth to mouth.

Meanwhile, Alfie’s mother Kate has posted a poem remembering Alfie that has already been shared thousands of times on Facebook.

In posts on Facebook, Alfie’s mother and father confirmed his passing.

“Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart broken. Thank you everyone for all your support,” she wrote.

“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30 absolutely heartbroken,” the boy’s father Tom Evans wrote on Facebook.

Family friend Laura McKenzie said: “Tom and Kate really appreciate everyone coming and showing their love.

“The whole world showed how much Alfie was loved and we’ll never, ever, ever forget him or his name. No one will.”

After his death, family and supporters of Alfie Evans celebrated his life in pictures and hundreds of tearful supporters of Alfie Evans and his family gathered at a park near Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to release balloons to honor the little boy after his death. And Pope Francis expressed the kind of sentiments that people around the world are expressing. He talked about his sadness and he talked about Alfie being embraced by the Lord in heaven.

“I am deeply moved by the death of little Alfie. Today I pray especially for his parents, as God the Father receives him in his tender embrace,” the pope tweeted on Saturday.

The legal battle sparked anger nationwide in England but also internationally as people stood up for Alfie’s parents and strongly opposed courts and hospitals making life and death decisions for patients over their families objections.

There is concern that the hospital contributed to his death.

As LifeNews reported, after removing his life support without permission, officials at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital waited 28 hours before finally feeding the 23-month old boy, who was fighting a rare neurological condition. Alfie’s Father Tom Evans confirmed at the time that his son was finally being fed but he condemned hospital officials for waiting so long to finally get him the nutrition he needs.

“They only started feeding him at one ‘o’clock yesterday. It’s disgusting how he’s being treated,” Evans said. “Not even an animal would be treated like this. He’s proving them wrong. It’s time to give him some grace and dignity and let him go home or to Italy.”

The other day, Alfie’s parents changed course and decided to end their battle.

Alfie Evans’ father Tom Evans called for supporters of Alfie and his family to “stand down” so they can begin “building a bridge” with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and its staff. The statement from Alfie’s father was surprising given the animosity that had developed between the Evans family and the hospital. Hospital officials have spent months in court preventing Alfie’s family from taking him to a hospital in Italy or even taking him home. Hospital officials even went as far as misleading courts by saying that they never said Alfie would die quickly after his life support was removed — even though they initially said Alfie would die within minutes after yanking his life support over his parents’ objections.

But perhaps seeing that there was little opportunity left to fight for Alfie’s rights and their right to take him abroad or take him home or sensing a need to appease the hospital to bring him home, Tom Evans struck a conciliatory tone.

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Later, the family of Alfie Evans blasted a false news report saying his parents are supposedly preparing for his death.

Alfie’s parents had hoped to take the little boy to the hospital in order to potentially get experiemental treatment that could help his rare degenerative neurological condition but courts repeatedly denied that. Justice Hayden ruled that Alfie’s family would not be able to fly him to Italy for treatment and appeared to say that this was the final decision related to his case. He said flying Alfie to Italy could harm his health because, as court testimony indicated, the flight could trigger possible “continuous seizures due to stimulations” of the flight. But Alfie’s parents are concerned Alfie will die if he doesn’t get care and possible experimental treatment in Italy.

A British doctors group, The Medical Ethics Alliance, expressed its horror over the treatment of Alfie Evans that it called a “medical tyranny.”

And Italy’s Healthcare Chief has slammed the decisions by UK courts to treat Alfie the way that they had. The President of the Italian National Institute of Health lambasted the UK High Court’s decision yesterday on Alfie Evans’ that resulted it the children’s hospital being allowed to remove life support over Alfie’s parents’ objections.

Pope Francis repeatedly spoken on Alfie’s behalf and urged that Alfie’s parents be allowed to bring him to Italy.

Members of Parliament are leading a new campaign for a law to prevent the tragic situation happening to Alfie Evans and his parents from happening to any other family. The new campaign calls on MPs to debate the matter in the House of Commons – with potential plans for “Alfie’s Law.”

Alfie Evans is not the first little boy to be held hostage by the court system and the healthcare system. There have been many other cases where courts and doctors have made the life or death decisions for a patient over the objections of their family.

One of those cases involved a little boy named Charlie Gard. In essentially the exact same circumstance, the British courts decided that his parents did not have the right to make the decision whether his life support was disconnected and a hospital yanked his life support without their consent. Charlie ultimately died not long after that happened. Chris Gard and Connie Yates’ little boy passed away just before 1st birthday in July 2017.

Judge in Alfie Evans Case Slams Christian Group Helping His Family as “Deluded and Fanatical”

LIFE NEWS ^ | April 28, 2018 | Steven Ertelt
Posted on 4/30/2018, 11:51:31 AM by Morgana
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3651491/posts

The main judge in the Alfie Evans case has already come under fire for the kinds of comments he made in the courtroom. Justice Hayden said that he did not want to be reminded that Alfie is a human being and told attorneys for Alfie’s family that there is supposedly nothing left of his brain.

Now the judge is coming under fire for comments he made about a Christian legal group whose attorneys helped represent Alfie’s family. In the courtroom he slammed the group calling one law student who was assisting the family “deluded and fanatical.”

Lawyers and others from the Christian Legal Centre — connected to the conservative Evangelical lobby group Christian Concern — provided Alfie’s parents legal assistance after they had no legal representation early in their battle for Alfie’s life. But Mr Justice Hayden castigated some of those from the Christian Legal Centre, and one law student who helped Alfie’s parents, Pavel Stroilov, was described by the judge as a “deluded and fanatical young man” who had prepared witness statements “littered with vituperation and bile.”

But now CLC chief executive Andrea Williams of the Christian legal group is responding:

In a statement released on Friday, she said: “In recent days, in addition to significant support we have endured some media and judicial criticism.

“We consider this unfair and detrimental.

“We reject the prejudicial and inflammatory comments made by Mr Justice Hayden.

“We also reject the portrayal by the Court of Appeal of our role in this case and the assistance that we have offered to Mr Evans.”

Ms Williams, who said the CLC had acted for free for the family, said she believed the family’s lack of legal representation at hearings in February had “major repercussions” for the rest of the case.

She added: “Again, we underline that our driving concern throughout our short involvement in this case has been to contend for little Alfies best interests and to serve his parents.

“We continue to believe that Alfie is not best served by holding him, against his parents wishes, in a hospital where he will be allowed to die, when another hospital is willing to offer him ongoing medical care, with minimal risk.

“At this difficult time, we ask everyone to respect the privacy of Mr Evans, Ms James and Alfie Evans.

“We entrust Alfie to the kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the gift of life and the freedom of parents.”

Little Alfie Evans has survived for almost 4 days after a children’s hospital yanked his life support without his parents’ consent. That’s despite the prediction doctors made that Alfie wouldn’t live very long after his life support was removed.

SIGN THE PETITION! Please Let Alfie Evans’ Parents Take Care of Him

Although Alfie’s parents have stopped releasing media statements about his condition or their legal battle to save him, Alfie’s uncle posted on Facebook that he believes Alfie could come home soon after his parents had a positive meeting yesterday with officials at Alder hey Children’s Hospital.

As LifeNews reported, Alfie Evans’ father Tom Evans called for supporters of Alfie and his family to “stand down” so they can begin “building a bridge” with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and its staff. The statement from Alfie’s father was surprising given the animosity that had developed between the Evans family and the hospital. Hospital officials have spent months in court preventing Alfie’s family from taking him to a hospital in Italy or even taking him home. Hospital officials even went as far as misleading courts by saying that they never said Alfie would die quickly after his life support was removed — even though they initially said Alfie would die within minutes after yanking his life support over his parents’ objections.

But perhaps seeing that there is little opportunity left to fight for Alfie’s rights and their right to take him abroad or take him home or sensing a need to appease the hospital to bring him home, Tom Evans is now striking a conciliatory tone.

Now, Alfie’s uncle Daniel Evans has posted on Faceook that he believes things are progressing to a point where Alfie could go home soon.

Evans also hinted that protests could continue if Alder Hey officials don’t send Alfie home. Daniel Evans said Alfie’s dad Tom didn’t want to approach the press or have any further protests, but added that this would be “until something changes with the hospital.”

He wrote: “I have seen that people are believing this is the end of Alfie’s army? Tom has released a statement that states he will not approach media or want any protests. This will be until something changes with the hospital but we hope and pray it doesn’t.”

He continued: “They aim to get him where they have always desperately wanted him HOME. And with today’s positive meeting this could be a goal complete for Tom and Kate. I will continue to update when necessary.”

Here’s what Alfie’s father Tom Evans said yesterday outside the hospital in a public statement moments ago, apparently after meeting with hospital officials:

He said: “Our lives have been turned upside down by the intense focus on Alfie and his situation.

“Our little family along with Alder Hey has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like.

“We are very grateful and we appreciate all the support we have received from around the world, including from our Italian and Polish supporters, who have dedicated their time and support to our incredible fight.

“We would now ask you to return to your everyday lives and allow myself, Kate and Alder Hey to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it.

“Together we recognise the strains (that) recent events have put upon us all and we now wish for privacy for everyone concerned.”In Alfie’s interests we will work with his treating team on a plan that provides our boy with the dignity and comfort he needs.”From this point onwards there will be no more statements issued or interviews given. We hope you will respect this.”Thank you.”

Tom Evans appeared to confirm on Facebook that the olive leaf to Alder Hey is to help get Alfie home.

“Thank you all from the bottom off our hearts. Please respect this statement. THERES ONLY ONE ALFIES ARMY. IF THIS IS HOW WE GET OUR SON HOME THEN PLEASE RESPECT US,” he wrote.

Later, the family of Alfie Evans blasted a false news report saying his parents are supposedly preparing for his death.

As the parents of Alfie Evans were preparing to meet with hospital staff to find out if they would be able to bring him home, a prominent doctor who has studied Alfie says he is not dying and is not brain-dead and says the hospital needs to quit holding him as if he were in a prison.

Alfie supposedly has a degenerative neurological condition but that diagnosis is being challenged now that Alfie is breathing on his own without life support.

Alfie Evans’ parents will meet with staff from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital today to request permission to take Alfie home. His father Tom Evans says he would not try to take Alfie to Italy if allowed to bring Alfie home, but that he would have doctors and support staff help Alfie from their home. Alfie has survived for a third day after hospital doctors removed his life support without their permission.

Alfie’s father Tom Evans agrees his son has been misdiagnosed.

Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC, Alfie’s father Tom said: “For the third day now, there’s been not one single problem with him. The nurses come in and said ‘wow.’”

“Today, we’re going to have a meeting with the doctors at Alder Hey and we’ll now start asking to go home. Alfie doesn’t need intensive care anymore.”

In the new interview, Evans said, “Alfie does not need intensive care – Alfie is lying on the bed with one litre of oxygen going to his lungs and the rest is him. Some people say it’s a miracle – it’s not a miracle its a misdiagnosis.”

Evans ruled out further legal battles to attempt to take Alfie to Italy to take him to a pediatric hospital that has offered to provide appropriate medical care and treatment for him. Alfie’s parents had hoped to take the little boy to the hospital in order to potentially get treatment that could help his rare degenerative neurological condition but courts have repeatedly denied that. Justice Hayden ruled that Alfie’s family would not be able to fly him to Italy for treatment and appeared to say that this was the final decision related to his case. He said flying Alfie to Italy could harm his health because, as court testimony indicated, the flight could trigger possible “continuous seizures due to stimulations” of the flight. But Alfie’s parents are concerned Alfie will die if he doesn’t get care and possible experimental treatment in Italy.

Evans said: “We got rejected yesterday to go to Italy unfortunately. We could take it further but would that be the right thing to do, would there be more criticism?”

The decision denying travel to Italy came despite doctors representing Alder Hey Children’s Hospital misleading the court with claims it never said Alfie would die soon after it removed his life support without his parents’ permission. And officials at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital kicked out two paramedics from the air ambulance and made them leave the premises after they were talking with Alfie’s parents. This is the latest example of the hospital’s lack of care and concern for the 23-month old boy who is dealing with a rare neurological condition.

Evans indicated that Alfie is not in any pain and hardly taking any drugs — and he disputed the claim that Alfie should not be able to travel to Italy because of potential seizures, saying that Alfie has not having any seizures and is not on any anti-seizure medication because there was no problem at this time.

Previously, Evans indicated he was very concerned about Alfie’s lack of food — saying then that it has been almost 24 hours since he has had anything to eat and he is just receiving water and fluids. He was worried that hospital staff are attempting to starve Alfie to death in an attempt to prove their contention that Alfie was going to die very quickly after his removal from life support. Eventually, Alfie received food.

Previously, the judge in the controversial legal battle over the life and death of Alfie Evans told the little boy’s parents that they are not able to take him home, for now. Essentially Justice Hayden considered Alfie’s parents a flight risk and worried they would leave the country with the 23-month old boy in tow. After a decision by Italy, Alfie now has Italian citizenship which should qualify him for being able to leave the country, but courts ruled otherwise.

A British doctors group, The Medical Ethics Alliance, expressed its horror over the treatment of Alfie Evans that it called a “medical tyranny.”

And Italy’s Healthcare Chief has slammed the decisions by UK courts to treat Alfie the way that they have. The President of the Italian National Institute of Health lambasted the UK High Court’s decision yesterday on Alfie Evans’ that resulted it the children’s hospital being allowed to remove life support over Alfie’s parents’ objections.

Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken on Alfie’s behalf and urged that Alfie’s parents be allowed to bring him to Italy.

American supporters of Alfie Evans who have been wondering what they can do now have an opportunity to show their support publicly. Supporters of Alfie and his family will be gathering in Washington DC on Thursday at the British Embassy to hold a prayer vigil on their behalf.

Court Says Ill Child’s Interests Outweigh Religion
AP

The New York Times ARCHIVES | 1991

Parents in Massachusetts may be forced to have their children treated for life-threatening illnesses, but adults have a right to refuse medical care, the state’s highest court ruled today.

The State Supreme Judicial Court ruled in two separate cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose religious beliefs forbid them from receiving blood transfusions.

One case involved Elisha McCauley, an 8-year-old girl with leukemia. Physicians at Children’s Hospital said that to determine the type of leukemia they needed to increase her red blood cell level through a transfusion. Her parents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, refused consent, but a judge authorized the transfusion, and the high court has now upheld that order.

In a separate decision today, involving a Jehovah’s Witness with a bleeding ulcer, the court ruled that a competent adult had a right to refuse medical treatment. Weighing Child’s Interest

In the McCauley case, the Supreme Judicial Court, ruling unanimously to uphold the July 1989 lower court order authorizing a transfusion, said, “We conclude that Elisha’s best interests, and the interests of the state, outweigh the McCauleys’ parental and religious rights.”

A lawyer who represented Elisha McCauley said the ruling could lay the groundwork for any future decision on a separate case involving a Christian Science couple, David and Ginger Twitchell. The Twitchells appealed their manslaughter convictions after being sentenced to 10 years’ probation last year for allowing their son to die while treating him with Christian Science healing methods rather than taking him to a doctor.

“I think the court may have taken this case to consider some of the issues involved in the Twitchell case, without having to consider the magnitude of a criminal conviction as well,” said Jonathan Brant, a lawyer for Elisha McCauley.

But the Twitchells’ attorney said the cases were not related at all, because his clients sought treatment through prayer and spiritual healing. ‘No Desire to Martyr’ Children

Don Ridley, an lawyer with the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ headquarters in New York City, said doctors often refused to consider other alternatives to blood transfusion for children.

“The Witnesses have no desire to martyr their children or sacrifice their children,” Mr. Ridley said.

In the case that led to the other decision, Norwood Hospital sought permission in April 1989 to treat the woman, Yolanda Munoz, 38, a Jehovah’s Witness from Dedham, with blood transfusions if her ulcer hemorrhaged.

The Supreme Judicial Court said the case became moot because there was no evidence her ulcer problems would recur, but went ahead with the ruling “due to the importance of the issue.”

Competent adults have a right to refuse treatment, the court said.

“The fact that the treatment involves life-saving procedures does not undermine Ms. Munoz’s rights to bodily integrity and privacy,” the court said. No Evidence of Abandonment

The court also said there was no evidence that Ms. Munoz’s child would be abandoned if she died.

“The evidence shows that Ernesto Munoz supported his wife’s decision not to consent to the blood transfusion. There is no evidence in the record that Ernesto was unwilling to take care of the child in the event that Ms. Munoz died,” the court said.

Four of the court’s seven members refused to rule on the issue of religious freedom, but three justices who concurred with the unanimous decision said Ms. Munoz had a right to refuse treatment on religious grounds.

“I subscribe to the result reached by the court only because I believe that Munoz indeed has a right, which ought to be recognized and respected, to risk death, if she deems that necessary, to preserve her immortal soul,” said Justice Francis P. O’Connor, in the concurring opinion.

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/16/us/court-says-ill-child-s-interests-outweigh-religion.html

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