Parents of Jewish girl on life support have been in legal fight to transport their daughter to Israel or the US for further treatment.
An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by the parents of a brain damaged two-year old Jewish girl to keep her on life support has been rejected, reported BBC News.
Alta Fixsler’s parents have been in a legal battle with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust to receive permission to take their daughter to Israel for further treatment or to the United States, where she had been given a visa due to her father’s American citizenship.
The ECHR ruled that it would not intervene in the case after a British high court ruled that it was in the toddler’s best interest to withdraw her life saving treatment.
The child’s parents called the ruling extremely disappointing, and said they hoped they could still reach an agreement to save their daughter’s life, their lawyer David Foster told BBC Radio 4’s Today show.
“It is a position no parent would like to find themselves in,” he said.
Alta Fixsler’s parents had argued before the European court that as Hasidic Jews the hospital’s plan to remove their daughter’s life support was against their religious beliefs and violated their rights as parents.
But, according to the BBC, the ECHR rejected their appeal and agreed with the previous decision by the UK court to place their daughter in end-of-life care.
Foster described the ruling as a troubling precedent that meant foreign nations were not able to pursue overseas care when given the opportunity.
He said the family is considering their options, adding that “the legal route has ended but it is still the case that an agreement could be reached.”
(Arutz 7).
