Baby Indi Gregory has died

Image by David Tomaseti on Unsplash

Source: Christian Concern

Indi Gregory has died during the night after having her life-support removed, her father, Dean, has said. The eight-month-old baby, who was denied an offer of specialist treatment in Italy by the NHS and UK Courts, was transferred from the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham to a hospice on Saturday with a security escort and police presence.

In a statement released by Indi's father, Dean Gregory, during the night, he said: "Indi's life ended at 01.45am. Claire and I are angry and heartbroken. The NHS and the Courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi's dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged.

"They did succeed in taking Indi's body and dignity, but they can never take her soul. They tried to get rid of Indi without anybody knowing, but we made sure she would be remembered forever. I knew she was special from the day she was born. Claire held her for her final breaths."

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "Our hearts are broken for Dean and Claire and their family. Please hold them in your prayers at this time.

"At the Christian Legal Centre, we have given our all, working day and night to support Indi's parents in their weeks, days and hours of need as they sought to protect their daughter and pursue justice. We have also worked to make known how important it is to uphold laws that wholly protect life and the rights of parents in the lives of their children. Doctors cannot be compelled to treat a patient against their conscience, but neither should they be the ones to prevent parents who secure specialist medical treatment for their child elsewhere from accessing that help.

"Justice is done in the light and a truly compassionate society protects its most vulnerable.

Indi was transferred to the hospice following a ruling made by Court of Appeal judges on Friday. Lord Justice Peter Jackson, Lady Justice Eleanor King and Lord Justice Andrew Moylan, denied Indi's parents their final wish to take Indi home for extubating and described the intervention of the Italian government to try and save Indi's life as 'wholly misconceived.'

It is understood that Indi was transferred from the hospital to an ambulance on Saturday with a security escort.

Indi was then transferred to a hospice without incident and was relaxed and slept during the journey.

At the hospice she had her life-support removed and was provided with invasive ventilation. She passed away at 01.45am on Monday 13 September.

Treatment in Italy blocked

On Friday evening, some of the most senior judges in the UK ruled that the Italian intervention in Indi's case under the Hague Convention is 'wholly misconceived' and 'not in the spirit of the convention'.

Furthermore, Lord Justice Peter Jackson, Lady Justice Eleanor King and Lord Justice Andrew Moylan, refused the family permission to appeal a ruling which said Indi's life-support cannot be removed at home.

Instead they ordered that Indi's life-support should be removed immediately.

The ruling was made despite Indi being granted Italian citizenship and on Thursday her Italian guardian making an urgent application to the UK High Court calling on Mr Justice Robert Peel to cede jurisdiction of the case to him under Article 9-2 of the 1996 Hague Convention.

It was also revealed on Friday that the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has urgently written to the UK's Lord Chancellor calling for the two countries to officially collaborate on facilitating Indi's transfer to Rome under the Hague Convention.

Prime Minister Meloni has written to the Rt. Hon Alex Chalk outlining the urgent application made by Indi's Italian guardian yesterday to the UK High Court. The letter was written pursuant to Article 32 of the Hague Convention 1996.

The application called on Mr Justice Robert Peel to cede jurisdiction of the case to the Italian guardian under Article 9-2 of the 1996 Hague Convention.

The Italian consul in Manchester, Dr Matteo Corradini, in his capacity as guardianship judge for the eight-month-old, made the order which has immediate effectiveness due to the imminent danger to the life of Indi.

The urgent application by the Italian guardian followed Indi being made an Italian citizen earlier this week and her Italian guardian issuing an emergency measure recognising the authority of the Italian courts in this case.

The Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital in Rome has agreed to accept Indi for treatment and to carry out the right ventricular outflow tract stent procedure that has been put forward by medical experts. The Italian government has offered to fund the treatment at no cost to the NHS or UK taxpayer.

The UK government has refused to comment on the case.

The family has been supported by the Christian Legal Centre throughout the legal battle which began in September.

Following the news of Indi's death, Bishop Patrick McKinney, Bishop of Nottingham, and Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues, have issued the following statement:

"With deep sadness we express our condolences to Dean and Claire, parents of Indi Gregory, who died earlier today. We assure them of our prayers and those of all the Catholic Community, including Pope Francis, at this sad time.

"As a baptised child of God, we believe that she will now share in the joy of heaven after her short life which brought deep joy to her parents who loved and protected her as a precious gift of God.

"We thank all who worked so tirelessly to care for her at the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham and at the hospice where she died.

'The legal battle between the NHS Trust and her parents shows again the need for greater weight to be given to the parental voice in these complex and sensitive cases. A simple way to begin to remedy this would be to amend the Health and Care Act 2022 by reintroducing Baroness Ilora Finlay's amendment on 'Dispute resolution in children's palliative care' formulated after the death of Charlie Gard.

"We will continue to contribute to wider discussions on questions of when treatment becomes disproportionate to any possible benefit and the duty of the continuation of basic care, including assisted nutrition and hydration, to protect the good of every child."

LINK

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's amendment, After Clause 164: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3022/stages/16122/amendments/91480