European court judges are considering the case of a severely disabled little boy who has been at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute in London.
Isaiah Haastrup’s parents have asked judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, to intervene after losing two legal battles in England.
A High Court judge gave doctors permission to provide only palliative care to 12-month-old Isaiah against the wishes of his parents, Lanre Haastrup and Takesha Thomas.
Specialists at King’s College Hospital in London had said providing further intensive care treatment was futile and not in Isaiah’s best interests.
Mr Haastrup and Miss Thomas, who are both in their 30s and from Peckham, south-east London, then failed to persuade Court of Appeal judges to overturn Mr Justice MacDonald’s decision.
“The ECHR received an application from Isaiah Haastrup’s father on Friday afternoon,” said an EHCR spokesman on Monday.
“The court will treat this as a priority case and aims to reach a decision as quickly as possible.”
A spokesman for King’s College Hospital said medics would continue treating Isaiah until European judges had made a decision.
