A boy on life support has been declared dead by the court despite family’s insistence that he can survive

Despite his family’s pleas, a judge has ruled that a 12-year-old boy who suffered brain damage is dead and that life support treatment should be discontinued.

Archie Battersbee was discovered comatose with a ligature around his neck at his house in Essex on April 7.

It was initially thought to be a “freak accident,” but his family began to suspect he was participating in a dangerous online challenge.

Doctors at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel believe the young boy is brain dead and should be taken of the ventilator.

However, his parents, Hollie Dance andPaul Battersbee, who are traumatized, say his heart is still beating and they are desperate for his treatment to keep going.

Hollie previously stated that she has felt her son squeeze her fingers ‘with a tight grip,’ and that she believes it is ‘his way of letting me know he’s still there and just needs more time.’

She told viewers on ITV’s Good Morning Britain earlier this month that she was ‘fighting for his life.’

‘If I don’t explore every avenue and if I don’t fight for his life, then, later on, we realise, actually we didn’t look into that, we’ve missed something, I’m going to spend the rest of my life not knowing and thinking “what if, what if?”,’ she said.

‘I’m going with my gut, a mother’s instinct, and a father’s, I think you should really go with it.’

A specialist, however, told the High Court that the boy’s prognosis was ‘very grave’ and his chances of recovery were ‘very low.’

When asked by the legal team at Barts Health NHS Trust if parts of the boy’s brain and spinal cord had died and were decaying, the specialist answered, ‘Yes.’

The Christian Legal Centre, a campaign organization, has been helping Archie’s family.

Andrea Williams, The centre’s chief executive, said that ‘This case raises the significant moral, legal and medical question as to when a person is dead.

‘Archie’s parents do not accept that he is dead and are fighting for his life.

‘There is no clear definition of death in English law, and a case like this has never come before an English court before.

‘The outcome is crucial for Archie and his family and anyone who cares about the value of life in this country.

‘The medical expert opinion presented in court is clear in that the whole concept of “brain death” is now discredited, and in any event, Archie cannot be reliably diagnosed as brain-dead.’

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