LONDON – A British judge ordered Thursday that critically ill infant Charlie Gard should be moved from a hospital to a hospice, where he will “inevitably” die within a short time.
Judge Nicholas Francis made the order after Charlie’s parents and the hospital treating him failed to meet a deadline to agree on an end-of-life care plan that could have seen the baby kept alive for several more days.
The judge said that meant 11-month-old Charlie, who has a rare genetic disease called mitochondrial depletion syndrome, should now be transferred to a hospice and have the ventilator that keeps him alive removed.
The judge said the actions “will inevitably result in Charlie’s death within a short period of time thereafter.”
He barred identification of the hospice or any of the medical staff treating Charlie.