Okay, any sympathy I might have had for Alfie Evans’ father just evaporated.
During tense proceedings, Lord Justice McFarlane made the revelation Mr Evans has started a bid to pursue private prosecutions against three doctors for ‘conspiracy to murder‘ the 23-month-old, who his clinging to life.
Fucking hell! Seriously. Okay, yes, he is in acute pain here and I understand that. I also understand the desire to lash out. However, switching off life support for a terminally ill patient is not in any universe, murder and to waste time and effort, not to mention money as well as putting the accused through the grief of having this put on them is an outrage. The man is an arsehole.
Private prosecutions are extremely rare in the UK because of the crippling cost of investigating and pursuing such cases, which can be stopped by the CPS if the allegations are false or malicious.
Which is precisely what it is. Yes, we can probably agree that the NHS should not be preventing him from removing his child and letting him go home to die would be the best outcome here. However, refusal does not constitute murder and such vile, frivolous and malicious prosecutions need to be stopped in their tracks.
Alfie’s father said today there is no longer a dialogue between them and the doctors…
Well there’s a surprise.
The lawyer, who is counsel for the pro-life group the Christian Legal Centre, also said there were ‘tensions’, but insisted that there was no ‘hostility’ against the NHS.
To be fair, I can understand hostility towards the NHS. However, individual doctors within the organisation should not be singled out for private prosecutions, for they are acting within the law. Yes, sure, argue that the law is wrong, but while it is the law, they have acted lawfully.
But, in an astonishingly frank exchange, Lord Justice McFarlane responded by telling him: ‘Your client purported to take out a private prosecution to have three named doctors charged with the criminal offence of conspiracy to murder.
‘Those summonses were served on the doctors and I hear you say that there is no hostility to the NHS.’
Well, quite. Whatever the arguments here, these private prosecutions are not only thoroughly egregious and an abuse of process, they help no one.
Lord Justice McFarlane pointed out during the proceedings that ‘the only determining factor is the best interests of Alfie’.
The judge added: ‘What rights others have, particularly the parents, falls into a subsidiary category…’
This is an important point. And it’s one some of the commenters here have been making. Whose rights should be primary here? Who decides what is in the best interests of the patient? One would expect that the parents would in conjunction with the doctors. Do the parents always act in the best interests of their child and is that is what is happening here? The law allows the state to intervene when it is obvious that the parents are abrogating their duty to the child. Given Evans’ behaviour in this case, I find myself veering towards the side of the state and the NHS – and by God, that is a very rare thing for me to say…
“: ‘What rights others have, particularly the parents, falls into a subsidiary category…’”
Really is nothing more to be said is there? One wonders how the parents can demonstrate to the court that flying the child to Italy is in his best interest-papal blessing or no. As said I haven’t followed the case but I should imagine there was a time before the media circus, before the ‘bipolar furnace of social meeja, before things got so ‘legal’, before the private prosecutions , when the court would have considered Alfie had a right to die at home surrounded by his family. As in another recent case if I recall.
So the kids brain dead, but still breathing.
How’s that work then?
It’s an inherited thing, from his fathers side.
That’s quite funny.
*SNORK!* that is so cruel, I shouldn’t laugh I know.
As black humour goes, that is delightfully horrible.
I don’t think anyone really knows. Some sort of autonomous response. It’s not that unusual apparently.
Well most MPs and Lords manage it, so perhaps you could ask them?
As for the dad, he’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the box and I’m absolutely sure that the circumstances are such that he has been driven beyond the point of sanity AND is being exploited by those whose real intent is to exploit poor Alfie’s situation to push their own agenda, particularly the sede vacante squatter occupying St. Peter’s Basilica.
The purpose of much of this is not to help poor Alfie (who is already clearly beyond help, albeit not actually dead yet), but rather to make sure that the next time doctors face a similar position, they might actually decide not to act “In the best interests of the child”, but rather in their own personal self interest by avoiding being the focus of mob justice, which is what “Alfie’s Army” actually represents.
This is the Homo Sapien version of the ALF scum that terrorised Huntingdon Life Sciences staff for decades. Coming to a children’s hospital near you if this sort of bullshit is allowed to continue.
Pretty much this, frankly. The vested interests and the mob using this child for their own ends sickens me to my stomach.
So the dad is just an average scouser…so what? he is under a pressure not many of us I hope will experience. I have no time for any of the conspiracy alfies army type nor do I have any faith in the machinations of the system. No winners here and plenty of losers including some of the smartarse individuals commenting here.
Unlike Longrider I still retain some measure of sympathy for both the Dad AND the doctors. This is the shittest of bad circumstances that I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy.
You say there are no winners here, but I would argue that the scumbags who are pushing what is effectively an agenda whose slippery slope looks like it ends at the door of the Anti-Abortionists and there’s money in them thar hills.
The Roman interloper seems happy to provide moral support and photo ops with Alfie’s dad kissing the ring. Surely, this means those swarthy foreign types with money looking for a papal knighthood won’t be far behind. A bit of Vatican theatre from a man in drag goes a long way towards washing even the bloodiest reputations.
The fact that these lawyers seem to be using the playbook from the Southern Poverty Law Centre and other race baiters / agitators is telling. I didn’t think I would see those sort of grotesque tactics in use in Britain, yet here we are.
What some people will do to make a buck…
An average person from wherever will behave with a modicum of dignity. That is lacking here. The mediafest and now this malicious private prosecution crosses the line. No matter how tragic someone’s circumstances, if they behave like a jerk then I’m going to call them on it.
Parents are typical scouse and like Mcanns displaying the mawkish sentimentality of a society that has become hooked on grief and likes to wallow in a sense of vicarious victimhood demanding taxpayers assuage their shortcomings.
However, Judge was wrong to refuse parents request to take him to Italy.
Let parents accept Italy’s offer, as long as they pay all costs. Problem solved – becomes Italy’s problem.
And the Italians weren’t offering anything more that a few weeks of life while they did some research into his condition.
Alder Hey’s resistance was due to the likelihood of fits and probable death in transit. Which, I feel, is exercising due diligence on their part.
Usually I would side firmly with the parents in their desire to provide the best care for their child. However, the child’s care must come first and if the medical professionals feel that the parents are not acting in the best interests of the child, then it is right for the law to intervene.