The overseas reaction to the case of Alfie Evans has been quite striking. It’s not that the NHS treated him poorly, or that anyone seriously believes that the 23-month-old boy could have recovered from his brain damage. The shock comes from the fact that English law can define the ‘best interests’ of a child as dying, overruling the parents who wished to take up the offer of treatment at a hospital in Rome. This Bloomberg article sums up much of the US reaction:-
‘It really is this simple. The British state has decided that it is the baby’s best interest to die, and it is trying to ensure that he dies expeditiously. It is overriding parental rights in the process.’
This article was retweeted by Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, who added:-
‘What the British government is doing to Alfie Evans and his family is almost unbelievable. Why aren’t US liberals outraged?’
I looked at Alfie’s case in my
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