Archie Battersbee, 12, died in the United Kingdom a few months ago after a weeks-long court fight that would have required hospitals to continue life support.
The family lost, the hospitals won, and Archie died immediately.
The battles took place in the nation’s High Court, Court of Appeal and the European Court of Human Rights.
He fell into a coma after a catastrophic brain injury, and his family believes it was because he choked while taking part of a social media challenge. They wanted life support so he could be transferred to a hospice and the hospital said it was futile.
Now a report from Christian Concern, which has supported the family’s efforts, confirms a United Nations committee will be reviewing the case.
The organization explained, “Archie’s mother, Hollie Dance, supported by the Christian Legal Center, commenced proceedings against the U.K. government pursuant to the Optional Protocol of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She complained that the decision of the U.K. High Court violated Archie’s right to life and right to equal treatment as a disabled person.”
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had issued an injunction that Archie be kept alive while it reviewed the situation, but the U.K. Court of Appeal ruled that the decision of the national High Court took precedence, and Archie died.
Now, the U.N. committee has confirmed it will proceed with its investigation.
The committee advocating for persons with disabilities is under the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and addresses violations of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
That international document, adopted by the U.K., provides, “States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.”
Lawyers for Dance explain that’s not what the U.K. actually does.
In fact, a prior decision from the committee, in 2016, found “grave and systemic violations of disabled persons’ rights” in the U.K., the report said.
Tbe case could bring “diplomatic embarrassment” on the U.K., and even a “censure,” if the U.N. group finds it did not follow protocol in Archie’s case.
Dance said, “I am again so grateful to the U.N. for their response. We have received so little support from the U.K. ‘system’, this means so much. At the time, we felt completely betrayed that the government intervened and went against us despite the U.N.’s intervention.”
This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
This post originally appeared on WND News Center.