Indi Gregory, who suffers from a rare mitochondrial disease.
Eight-month-old Indi Gregory, who suffered from mitochondrial disease, has died peacefully in her mother’s arms after a long and difficult legal battle between her parents and the NHS. Her parents, Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, had fought tirelessly to keep their daughter alive, but ultimately the courts ruled in favor of the National Health Service’s decision to stop treatment.
Gregory suffered from a rare, incurable and degenerative mitochondrial disease that caused her cells to not produce enough energy.
Her doctors at Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) said she was suffering significant pain and suffering and further treatment was pointless. English courts agreed and made a final decision on Friday about where the treatment should be lifted.
The baby was taken from a hospital in Nottingham, central England, to a hospice on Saturday, where life support was withdrawn.
In a statement, her father said he and the baby’s mother, Claire, were “angry, heartbroken and ashamed.”
“Not only have the NHS and the courts deprived her of the chance to live a longer life, but they have also deprived Indi of the dignity of dying in the family home where she belonged,” he said, adding will always remember her.
“I knew she was special from the day she was born.”
Last week, the Italian government granted the baby Italian citizenship – an unsuccessful move to prevent her from being taken off life support and to allow her to emigrate to Italy.
“We did everything we could, everything possible. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pope Francis referred to the case on Saturday, saying in a statement that he was praying for the girl, her family and all children suffering from war and disease.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Source : www.ndtv.com