August 10, 2021

European Court of Human Rights Rules that Life Support can be Removed from UK 2-Year-Old

Alta Fixler with her family
Last week, the European Court of Human Rights declined to intervene to save the life of a child whose life support is in jeopardy. Despite the wishes of two-year-old Alta Fixler's parents, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital refuses to transfer her to another hospital.

The court's decision means that the UK hospital could choose to remove Fixler's life support very soon.

Fixler's parents are Hasidic Jews who strongly object to the hospital's decision because of their beliefs. They believe in the sanctity of human life, and they hope that the hospital will change its mind and allow them to transfer their daughter to one of several facilities that have expressed willingness to provide treatment for their daughter.

Both parents have Israeli citizenship, and Fixler's father has US citizenship as well. Because of this, hospitals and politicians from both countries have reached out to save Alta's life. The US government has approved a non-immigrant visa that would allow Fixler to travel to the US for treatment.