Court Sides Against Parents: Resuscitation Not in Interests of Infant Girl

LONDON, October 7, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A UK High Court Justice ruled on the value of life for Charlotte Wyatt, the eleven month-old with serious heart and lung problems being cared for at St. Mary’s hospital in Portsmouth. Today the justice sided with the hospital that decided Charlotte’s ‘quality of life’ would be so poor that she ought not to be resuscitated should she experience another medical emergency. Charlotte was born three months premature and her chance of survival was estimated to be only be 50% at birth.  Saying that he was convinced there was nothing medical science could do for her, Justice Mr. Hedley said that further treatment was not in her interests. Three things ought to be done for her, he said, “As much comfort as possible, as much time as possible to spend in the presence and in contact with her parents and she should be allowed to meet her end, in the words of Mr. Wyatt, with the TLC of those who love her the most.”“The hospital is trying to get us to pull the plug,” said Charlotte’s father, Darren Wyatt said before the ruling. Wyatt said, “I cannot do that. I would have to live with that for the rest of my life. I simply cannot make a decision to end Charlotte’s life. She has been fighting for 10 months and I’m not prepared to let her down. We need to be able to say we did absolutely everything in our power to help her.”  In the hearings, Wyatt told the court “When you grow to love someone, you can’t just throw them away.” The Wyatts, who are devout Christians, hold that life has inherent value in spite of suffering. The Wyatts will not be appealing the decision.  ph