Charlie Gard is a UK citizen born in August of 2016. He suffers from a rare genetic disease that has an almost non-existent survival rate. Experimental treatments are available in the US, but the British government run hospital and British courts have deemed that life support will be removed – despite the parent’s objections and their ability to pay for the US treatment via fundraising campaigns (1.3 million UK pounds were raised). While the court and hospitals selected the date of June 30, 2017 for the removal of Charlie’s life support, the staff of the hospital have elected to not do so in order to give the parents “more time”, although how much more time has not been explicitly stated.
The plight of Charlie Gard has now become an international issue, with both US President Donald Trump and the Vatican weighing in on his plight. Lifenews has an excellent write-up on the plight of Charlie’s parents as they continue the struggle to keep their son alive.
Charlie’s website is www.charliesfight.org