Bioethicists weight in after the appeal was granted on the grounds that the court did not prove Archie's death "beyond reasonable doubt."

The case of Archie Battersbee, a 12-year-old boy who suffered catastrophic brain damage during an internet challenge, has been approved for appeal. Last week, a judge ruled that Archie was dead, but his lawyers and some bioethicists have argued that more proof is needed.

Archie

On April 7, Archie was found hanging from the stairs with a ligature wrapped around his neck. It has been determined that Archie was taking part in an internet challenge called “Blackout.” According to Catholic Leader, the challenge gets people to choke themselves to the point of passing out. Archie was taken to Royal London hospital where he was diagnosed as “brain stem dead” and has since remained unconscious.

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Aleteia previously reported that despite his diagnosis, Archie’s family believed that he was improving. His mother, Hollie Dance, has documented instances where Archie opened his eyes or squeezed her fingers until they turned red. While the doctors consider these nervous responses, they have given Hollie hope that her son may recover, if given more time.

Appeal

On June 13, a high court judge ruled in favor of the doctors, stating that on the “balance of probabilities” it is likely that Archie is dead. A week later, Archie’s parents won the right to appeal after submitting that Archie’s death had not been proven “beyond reasonable doubt.” Archie’s representatives have argued that the decision was made based on the “probability” of Archie’s death, rather than the actuality of his condition.

The appeal has yet to be scheduled, but Hollie has expressed her desire to fight for her son’s life until the end. She told the Guardian:

“Archie should be given a lot longer. There are COVID patients who get six months to a year and are on ventilators struggling for their life. Archie has had eight very short weeks and we have been in and out of court.”

Bioethics

The case, the first of its kind in England, is raising moral and medical questions about when a patient should be considered deceased and bioethicist experts are leading the charge. The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, an institute serving the Catholic Church in the U.K. and Ireland, released a statement on its website:

“It seems extraordinary that questions of life and death should be matters of a balance of probability rather than determination beyond reasonable doubt.” The Centre continued, “The Catholic Church requires moral certainty of death – certainty beyond reasonable doubt – before unpaired vital organs can be taken from a body.”

Anscombe went on to equate the decision to remove Archie’s life support to burying someone who was unresponsive. They noted that no one would consider burying someone who was “more likely than not” dead.

The bioethicists said that the removal of Archie’s life support would go against the teachings of the Church. They wrote:

“What is ‘very likely’ is not certain, and one source of doubt is the fact that Archie’s heart continues to beat.”

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