Socialized medicine and the British courts play God/caption
Why gamble with money when you can gamble with peoples lives?" high-powered lawyer Martin Vail played by Richard Gere in Primal Fear" (1996)
What a heady power for a judge to hold the fate of terminally ill infant in his hands! If he wishes this black robed figure may act as a state-sanctioned de facto Grim Reaper. Should a British barristernot a doctor not the childs parentsbe the ultimate arbiter of life or death for an innocent?
At issue is the welfare of 11-month-old Charlie Gard born on August 4 2016. Beyond being deaf blind and severely epileptic hes so infirm he cannot breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. Charlies debilitating genetic condition is so rare there are only 16 reported cases worldwide. His maladya RRM2B mutation of Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome (MDDS)saps the vital organs of energy causing progressive muscle weakness loss of motor skills and brain damage. Hence any further treatment is experimental; and only available in the United States with emergency FDA approval.
Ironically the therapy for Charlie would be a simple oral medication. While not reversing any brain damage it could help to manage Charlies symptoms and increase his life expectancy. Medically speaking the treatment is a long shot as acknowledged by Charlies mother Connie Yates 31. She pleaded with the judge Ten percent. You would if it was your son wouldnt you? Well precisely. Complicating matters is the fact that the medicine beneficial to other children less afflicted has never been tried on a patient as ill as Charlie. Essentially British socialized medicine is currently treating" Charlie like a prisoner. They want him to die with dignity" and refuse to release him to his parents care.
This tragedy has become a political firestorm reaching around the globe. In America President Trump and members of Congress have weighed in. Specifically Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Trent Franks (R-AZ) are planning special legislation to make Charlie Gard a lawful permanent resident of the United States. All in the hope to increase Charlies chances to receive treatment stateside. Likewise Pope Francis has offered a Vatican passport and access to the Vatican hospital. Before any of that can potentially happen Judge Nicholas Francis must make his final determination. Reportedly that will happen by July 25.
His current position (read: the states) bars travel and authorizes Londons Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to remove Charlie from life support. Justice Francis previously said Although the parents have parental responsibility overriding control is vested in the court exercising its independent and objective judgment in the childs best interests." In my view thats an impossible standard to meet; especially under these heart-wrenching circumstances! Therefore only informed medical opinions will be offeredin other words educated assumptionsnothing more. What an ego-trip for this judge to play God like Martin Vail! What of the age-old natural right of any parent to preserve the life of an offspring? Should that biological impulse be superseded by the flawed human perception of one wigged stranger in High Court silks?
Up until this point his parents have moved metaphorical mountains to assist their ailing child. For example they collected 350000 signatures asking the hospital to release their son. Also they set up a GoFundMe campaign raising the equivalent of more than $1.7 million dollars to pay for Charlies medical care without further burdening the British health-care system. Fortuitously a U.S. hospital has even offered to give Charlie free treatment if he is able to relocate here. Given all of these positive developments Charlies mother is hopeful Theres 18 children currently on this medication nucleoside bypass therapy theyre all getting stronger theyre all getting better. Its a miracle what happens."
Perhaps the miracle will take the form of Dr. Michio Hirano a neurologist at New Yorks Columbia University Medical Center. He will consult with Charlies doctors in London on Monday. In the interim Hirano told the judge that a MRI scan of the babys brain did not necessarily indicate structural damage. Per CNN he stated there was an 11 to 56 chance of clinically meaningful improvement" in muscular function with the new therapy. Furthermore this expert stated that keeping Charlie on a ventilator would not contribute to his problems because he did not appear to be in any significant discomfort.
Only three months of treatment at Columbia University will determine whether Charlie is improving. Thus the old adage: While theres life theres hope." Certainly dealing with such grief and adverse circumstances is enough for any parent without the additional stresses of an intransigent hospitaland an ongoing legal battle. Even if those hurtles are overcome Charlies father Chris 32 is realistic about the equally daunting future medical challenge. He said If there is no improvement we will let him go. We just want to give him a chance." Just the basic freedom to decide whats best for their own child.
As the bill-sponsoring U.S. Congressmen said in a joint statement Should this little boy to be ordered to diebecause a third party overriding the wishes of his parents believes it can conclusively determine that immediate death is what is best for him?" Hence a universal lesson is gleaned: government-run nanny state medicine fails compared to the patient-centered variety. Thats because the state imposes itself where it has no business being. Matters of mortality should remain with individuals and their familiesnot judges bureaucrats and politicians.
Witness the danger of all-powerful governing bodies! The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) refused to intervene and the British courts have previously sided against Charlies parents. Politically arent these imperial powers equivalent to the autonomous attorneys populating the 115th U.S. Congress (read: 167 members of the House (37.8 percent) and 55 Senators (55 percent))? Once again lawyersnot doctors (only 14 physicians in Congress: 11 in the House 3 in the Senate)are determining a gerrymandered replacement for ObamaCare. Like mute and helpless Charlie our health-care system hangs precariously in the balance. For better or worse its destiny also in the wrong hands of the powerful and the political.
Our best solution like Charlies is a long shot. Congress should return our society to free market privatized medicine. The kind that existed pre-Obama: before progressives used government to seize control of 1/6 of the economy. That liberation of doctors and patients might save patients like Charlie Gardand perhaps the rest of us as well. A gamble best left to those directly involved rather than the state and its autocratic representatives.
David L. Hunter is an Associate Editor at Capitol Hill Outsider. Hes on Twitter and blogs at davidlhunter.blogspot.com. He is published in The Washington Post The Washington Times FrontPage Mag and extensively in Patriot Post Canada Free Press and American Thinker.