Is letting Alta Fixsler die really in her ‘best interests’?

There’s something grimly familiar about the case of little Alta Fixsler, the brain damaged toddler whose parents are contesting the decision of the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to withdraw her life support treatment. She hasn’t eaten or spoken since she was born, tragically prematurely, a misfortune that left her with permanent brain damage. The hospital wishes to turn off her support but her parents want her to be transferred to a hospital in the United States – her father has an American passport – or to Israel – her parents are Israeli citizens, as is she – where the leading paediatric hospital has volunteered to take her.

The hospital trust has been supported by the courts where Mr Justice MacDonald was explicit that: 

‘There is no requirement for the court to evaluate the reasonableness of the parents’ views before it embarks upon deciding what, objectively, is in the child’s best interests.’ 

The parents took the case to the European court, which refused to intervene.