When Parents And Doctors Disagree On What Futile Means
Time|July 24,2017

When Parents And Doctors Disagree On What Futile Means

Alice Park
When Parents And Doctors Disagree On What Futile Means

HE’S ONLY 11 MONTHS OLD, BUT Charlie Gard commands an army of the impassioned that numbers in the hundreds of thousands and includes a Pope and a President. This online platoon, including 350,000 people who have signed a petition on his behalf, is rallying behind his parents’ singular mission—for Charlie to stay alive. A far smaller but equally committed group, including a hospital and a court, is fighting back, defending the medical community’s right to decide when enough treatment is enough and to allow the baby to die with dignity and in peace. It’s a moral argument with a challenging perception problem, as doctors are aligning to essentially stop the care they are committed to provide. And no matter what happens to Charlie, the questions raised by his case will endure.

This story is from the July 24,2017 edition of Time.

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This story is from the July 24,2017 edition of Time.

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