August 5, 2021

Parents of 2-Year-Old Girl Await UK Court's Decision on Removing Child's Life Support

UK Supreme Court Building
photo credit: Cary Bass-Deschenes / Flickr
A two-year-old girl's life is at stake as a UK hospital is attempting to remove her life support without the consent of her parents. Hospitals in Israel and the US have expressed their willingness to care for the girl, but the British government is refusing to allow her transfer.

The Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has treated Alta since she was born on Dec. 23, 2018. She has used a ventilator and a feeding tube since birth. When doctors proposed that life-sustaining care be withdrawn, Alta's parents refused. The doctors then applied to the UK's High Court to have Alta's treatment withdrawn and have her transferred to palliative care.

The High Court ruled on May 28 that it was “not in the best interests of Alta for life-sustaining medical treatment to be continued.” The Court of Appeal later dismissed the parents' appeal. The UK Supreme Court's pending decision will decide the value of Alta's life.

The doctors argue that Alta has no chance of recovery, and continued care would cause unnecessary pain justifying their attempt to withhold life-sustaining care.

Two-year-old Alta Fixler's parents both hold Israeli citizenship, and her father also holds U.S. citizenship. Because of this, hospitals and politicians from both nations have been pushing the British government to allow Alta to be transferred to a hospital in one of their countries.

Early last month, the U.S. Embassy in London issued a non-immigrant visa for Alta that would allow her to be transferred to the U.S. for further treatment.

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin wrote to Prince Charles in an effort to help Alta's family transfer her to Jerusalem for treatment.

Alta's parents are Hasidic Jews, whose beliefs oppose the removal of medical treatment that could extend her life.