Family lose battle to keep brain-damaged baby alive

A couple who want doctors to keep treating their brain-damaged baby son have lost a Court of Appeal fight to keep him alive.

Three appeal judges today ruled that stopping life-support treatment was in newborn Midrar Ali’s best interest.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, Lord Justice Patten and Lady Justice King analysed arguments from lawyers representing Midrar’s parents, Karwan Ali and Shokhan Namiq, and doctors, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London earlier this week.

Midrar’s parents, who live in Manchester, had challenged a ruling by a High Court judge that his life support should be turned off.

Mrs Justice Lieven, who analysed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester, had concluded that Midrar was brain stem dead.

She had ruled that life-support treatment could lawfully end.

Midrar’s parents say treatment should continue and had asked appeal judges to overturn Mrs Justice Lieven’s ruling.

They say Midrar is still growing and say doctors cannot be sure that he will not improve.

But the three appeal judges dismissed their challenge.