Tot should die - Judge

Sunday Herald Sun, october 15, 2004

Parents lose heartbreaking fight.

LONDON - The devastated parents of a desperately ill baby are preparing to let her die in their arms.

A High Court Judge ruled Charlotte Wyatt must be allowed to die in peace and gave the baby's doctors permission not to resuscitate her if her breathing stops.

Parents Darren and Debbie Wyatt had begged the law to give 11 month old Charlotte the chance of beating over whelming medical odds. But a Judge called the "momentous decision" that it was against her best interests to keep her clinging to a hopeless life.

The High Court had heard Charlotte is severely disabled and in constant pain. Her quality of life has been described as terrible and permanent.

In a poignantly worded judgment, Mr Justice Hedley ruled doctors should not revive her if she becomes critically ill again, which experts expect within weeks, if not days.

Instead, she should be given as much comfort and as little pain as possible, spend time in contact with her parents, and meet her end in what her father called :the tender loving care of those who love her most".The ruling by the judge, a father of four, lifted from medically staff the burden of deciding the fate of Charlotte, who was born three months prematurely and has never known life outside hospital.

But for her parents it meant their "little angel" will not be allowed a chance of survival however slim, in the hope that "the man upstairs", as Mr Wyatt, 32, said. "We're not happy about the decision, but we accept it.

The landmark ruling came after the Portsmouth NHS Hospitals Trust sought a legal declaration allowing doctors not to put Charlotte on a ventilator if she had critical difficulty breathing.

She is deaf, blind and even if she survived, she would be severely disabled and need 24 hour care.

Mr Wyatt believed she recognized her parents and responded to their presence and their cuddles.