Charlie Gard's parents vow to 'keep fighting' as they arrive at High Court for fresh appeal

Rashid Razaq13 July 2017

The parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard today vowed to keep fighting as they arrived at the High Court to continue their bid to seek treatment overseas.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates made the announcement ahead of a High Court hearing.

The couple, who are in their 30s and come from Bedfont, west London, want a judge to rule that 11-month-old Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, should be allowed to undergo a therapy trial in the US.

Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is being cared for, say therapy proposed by a doctor in America is experimental and will not help. They say life-support treatment should stop.

Fresh appeal: Connie Yates and Chris Gard arrive at court
Andy Rain/EPA

In an emotional statement read outside the High Court by family spokesman Alasdair Seton-Marsden, whose voice cracked with emotion, the couple said: “We are continuing to spend every moment working around the clock to save our dear baby Charlie.

Charlie's parents are fighting to save their son 
PA

“We’ve raised over £1.2 million and have had invitations from specialised doctors in the US and Italy offer their groundbreaking treatment to us and are confident they can help little Charlie.

"We will continue to make the case for us to seek treatment for Charlie with doctors that are actually specialised in Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome and we hope the judge and the courts will finally rule in favour of us seeking treatment elsewhere.

"We love him more than life itself. If he’s still fighting, then we’re still fighting.”

Charlie’s parents have already lost battles in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in London.

They have also failed to persuade European Court of Human Rights judges in Strasbourg, France, to intervene.

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