AFTER A PROTRACTED, and unsuccessful, legal battle from his parents to bring their son to the US to receive treatment for an extremely rare disease, 11-month-old Charlie Gard died yesterday.
Today, his story dominates the UK newspapers and numerous well-known international figures have paid tribute to the boy who suffered from a rare form of mitochondrial disease. The condition causes progressive muscle weakness, including in key organs such as the heart.
A court had ordered that the 11-month-old should be moved from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to a hospice where his life support would be withdrawn.
Supporters around the world donated £1.35 million (€1.5 million) via an online fundraising site to support the family and their efforts to keep Charlie alive.
Pope Francis had publicly expressed support to bring Charlie to America for treatment in the past, and tweeted a tribute to the boy on Twitter last night.
He said: “I entrust little Charlie to the Father and pray for his parents and all those who loved him.”
UK Prime Minister Theresa May also released a statement. She said that she was “deeply saddened by the death of Charlie Gard” and that her “thoughts and prayers [are] with Charlie’s parents Chris and Connie at this difficult time”.
US President Donald Trump had offered Charlie’s family support in bringing him to the US, and his vice president, Mike Pence, tweeted his own tribute.
He said: “Saddened to hear of the passing of Charlie Gard. Karen [his wife] and I offer our prayers and condolences to his loving parents during this difficult time.”
Turning to the newspapers, the Daily Mail, running with the headline “Rest in Peace, Charlie”, had always supported the case of Gard’s parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard, and said the case had “raised so many questions about our age”.
The Sun carried a front-page photograph of the baby, with the headline “RIP our hero”, adding that Gard was the “tot whose plight touched the world”.
The Daily Mirror also carried a front-page photograph of the baby smiling at father Chris Gard under the headline “Our beautiful little boy has gone”, echoing the words of mother Connie Yates.
The Guardian expressed sympathy for Yates and partner Chris, saying the “anguished parents found themselves confronting a harsh and unfamiliar world of paediatric intensive care, the law courts and the media”.
The Daily Telegraph said “little Charlie” had “brought out the best in us”.
“Poor Charlie has died,” they wrote. “Whatever one thinks of the debate surrounding his life, that’s all that matters now. A life is gone. Those left behind have to be given the space to grieve. Politics is suspended.”
With reporting from AFP - © AFP, 2017
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