A very sad story.

I think in this case I'm happy to trust the experts. It did sound harsh that they turned off life support, despite the parents wishes to the contrary...but the staff have to make hard calls like that every day and I'm sure their policies and procedures are regularly reviewed. It's not a situation I'd wish on anyone and although I'm not unsympathetic to the parents, sometimes insisting on life above all else is unfair to the person involved.

Sadly the little man died last night. His parents ought to be proud of their brave fight.

Well he lost his fight at 2:30 this morning

Alfie died. Family should not be forced to have life support removed from loved ones nor should they be forced to provide it in hopeless cases. After all, they are the ones who will have to live with the memories. My daughter knows how I feel about extreme measures, but my health care directive leaves all of the decision making to her. I tell her to do what she is comfortable with, that whatever she decides is fine because I won't know or care what happens.

Society should not take “cost” into consideration in deciding whether to end or preserve life. The cost of maintaining Alfie alive is socially acceptable. I’m sure the Queen won’t have to pawn off the Crown Jewels anytime soon to avoid being evicted from her favorite palaces. In these cases the most important value is respect for human dignity, and the proper thing to do is to honor the wishes of the individual, if they can be ascertained, and of the individual’s immediate family.

I believe the child's struggle is ultimately futile, but if Italy is willing to provide the wanted help, then why not let them? It won't cost the British NHS a penny and the parents can feel like they truly did everything they could. As far as the boy's suffering, does he even have enough of a consciousness to suffer? And, if so, will that really matter when he won't be with us much longer?

FWIW, I do somewhat understand the thorny position the NHS finds themselves in. If, by some chance, the kid should make it, then it could presented as evidence in future hopeless cases that exorbitant amounts should be spent "just in case' ... and that failure to do so is putting a price on life. Death panels, as it were.

The situation just plain sucks all the way around.

Hi Ian,
I feel utterly distraught for his parents. They have fought so desperately hard for their little man, their love for him is palpable but they need to let go. I look at my three and feel so lucky they are all grown up. I know though, I have no idea how I would have reacted. They both should be massively proud of themselves.

If life support has been removed and he's breathing on his own they've got what they wanted. He will physically be there with no brain-an agonizing way to survive.

Science is about being wrong, then being "right" and then being wrong again. Play the cards that are in your hand right now, not the next hand. As for Alfie Evans, this is a classic hospice situation. I just went through that with my dad. He had another few weks of being with family and then he passed peacefully and painlessly.

I posted this on my Facebook earlier today

Imagine you are trapped in a room completely dark, there's no sound , it's not hot or cold , you can't feel any drafts, you can't pinch yourself as you can't even feel your surroundings . Oh and you cannot use any language to think as you only learnt how to scream . Now do that for an hour . Yet a lot of people want a child to do that for the rest of his life .. . ..to me that's just evil !!!!!