A family has been granted permission to appeal a ruling allowing doctors to switch a brain-damaged boy’s life support off.
The High Court said last week medical professionals could legally stop treating 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, who has not regained consciousness since an “accident” in April.
This judge previously said the boy had been dead since the end of May and doctors at the Royal London Hospital could “cease to ventilate” him “mechanically”.
But his mother, Hollie Dance, said she was “sickened” by the ruling and did not believe her son was being given enough time.
She went to the High Court on Monday with Archie’s father, Paul Battersbee, to ask permission to mount an appeal.
The High Court has now given them the go-ahead to take the case to the Court of Appeal.
The family had to establish they had an arguable or compelling case for the judge to agree to a full appeal hearing.
On Monday, a barrister leading their legal team argued evidence had not shown “beyond reasonable doubt” that Archie is dead but the decision had been made on a balance of probabilities.
Edward Devereux QC said a decision of such “gravity” should have been made on a “beyond reasonable doubt” basis.
The barrister also argued the court erred by failing to accommodate the religious views of Archie and his family in relation to the declaration of death.
The High Court had previously been asked to decide what was best for the boy as his parents were pushing back against proposals by doctors – who believe Archie is “brain-stem dead” – to switch off his life support.
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