Jerusalem, 9 June, 2021 (TPS) — President Reuven Rivlin appealed to Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, asking that two-year-old Alta Fixler of Manchester, an Ulta-Orthodox girl currently hospitalized in a British hospital, be brought to Israel for medical treatment.
Fixler encountered a severe brain injury during birth and has relied on life-support treatments since then. She cannot breathe, eat or drink without advanced medical support.
The High Court in London ruled on May 28 that doctors are allowed to turn off life-support equipment, which is contrary to the parents’ wishes, who want to bring her to Israel for further medical treatment.
The Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which has been caring for her, recently petitioned for the right to end her life-sustaining treatment. They believe the treatments she is receiving will never improve her health and help her recover from the brain injury she suffered.
However, Fixler’s parents want her to be taken to an Israeli hospital for further treatment.
Rivlin, in his letter sent to Prince Charles on Wednesday, sided with the parents and advocated for Fixler to be transported to Israel.
Rivlin said even though representations have been made to the government, he believed a personal intervention was vital due to these unique circumstances.
“It would be a tragedy if the parents’ wishes were not accommodated in a way that respects the law and their religious beliefs,” he wrote.
“It is the fervent wish of her parents, who are devoutly religious Jews and Israeli citizens, that their daughter be brought to Israel,” he said in the letter. “Their religious beliefs directly oppose ceasing medical treatment that could extend her life and have made arrangements for her safe transfer and continued treatment in Israel.”
