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FINAL MOVE
Archie Battersbee: Family apply to move 12-year-old to hospice to die after court refuses last-ditch appeal
ARCHIE Battersbee's family have applied to move their 12-year-old to a hospice to die.
The boy's mum Hollie Dance and dad Paul Battersbee last night lost their last-ditch bid to keep Archie's life support on.
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The European Court of Human Rights rejected their appeal - leaving Hollie "absolutely deflated" .
Now, the family have made an application to the High Court to move Archie from Royal London Hospital to a hospice for his final hours.
Hollie said denying their request to move Archie would "simply be inhumane".
In a statement, she said: "If Archie is denied oxygen if and when life-support is removed I will continue to give him oxygen.
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"I pray that the High Court will do the right thing. If they refuse permission for us to take him to a hospice and for him to receive palliative oxygen it will simply be inhumane and nothing about Archie's 'dignity.'
"The whole system has been stacked against us.
"Reform must now come through Charlie's Law so that no parents have to go through this.
"We will fight to the end for Archie's right to live."
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The family's lawyers had until 9am to make their High Court appeal in order to transfer their young son out of the Royal London Hospital.
Heartbroken Hollie confirmed the family's intentions to keep battling the courts' decisions, describing it as "completely barbaric and absolutely disgusting that we're not even allowed to choose where Archie takes his last moments".
She previously vowed: "We will fight until the bitter end. We're going to fight for the right for my son to live."
Archie was found with a ligature over his head after a social media dare at home in Southend, Essex on April 7 this year.
The youngster suffered brain damage in the "freak accident" and has been unresponsive ever since.
He is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the hospital in Whitechapel, East London.
This is a fight for my son's life and I'm up against the biggest system. I haven't got time to break down at the moment.
Hollie Dance
But Barts Health NHS Trust believe Archie's condition is too unstable for him to be transferred elsewhere, saying an ambulance journey "would most likely hasten the premature deterioration the family wish to avoid, even with full intensive care equipment and staff on the journey".
A High Court order made in July also requires that Archie remains at the Royal London Hospital while his treatment is withdrawn.
Last night the family's spokeswoman said a hospice has agreed to take him, adding: "Hospices are well and truly designed for palliative and respite care.
"Archie is now obviously on palliative care so there is no reason whatsoever for him not to take his last moments at a hospice."
Hollie said she wanted her son to have a "dignified passing at a hospice", adding that is is "unfair" they have to "fight" to get him out of the hospital.
She responded to the ECHR's rejection yesterday evening with tears in her eyes, saying: "The one thing I will say is, I promised him I'd fight to the end and that's exactly what I've done."
Speaking outside The Royal London Hospital after the verdict, Hollie said: "Doctors do get it wrong.
"I'm saying they've got it wrong in this case. They said Archie would last 24 hours - here he is still fighting."
Archie's family have been fighting court decisions in a bid to delay the withdrawal of their boy's life support.
Before the ECHR block, the family went through the Supreme Court where judges had also agreed it would be unlawful to maintain the 12-year-old’s life-sustaining treatment.
They said continuing life support would only "protract" his death as there is “no prospect of any meaningful recovery” for the brain-damaged boy.
Yet Archie's mum Hollie has been adamant her son has a chance of survival, saying previously: "I know Archie's still with us.
"He's showing very different signs to what the clinicians are actually putting over to the courts.
"He's very much there, he's progressing in so many ways.
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"Archie held my hand. He squeezed my fingers so tight they were red. All he needs is time.
"He hasn't been given long enough. We just want time."
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