Fight for Alfie

Alfie was a 23-month-old boy in a British hospital who had some kind of deteriorating disease. The hospital decided that removing the boy's life support was in his "best interest."

His father, Tom, organized opposition to the hospital's decision. He went to court, and the judge sided with the hospital. Italy made Alfie an Italian citizen and offered to treat him at Bambino Gesu Hospital. The judge would not allow it. Tom wanted to take his child home. It was not allowed.

"Pope Francis met with [Tom] earlier this month, and the distraught father told him, “Our child is sick, but not dying and does not deserve to die. He is not terminally ill nor diagnosed. We have been trying our best to find out his condition to treat or manage it.”

"But days after that meeting, Britain’s High Court again rejected the couple’s appeal, and last Monday the European Court of Human Rights refused to hear their case. Hours later, the hospital removed Alfie’s ventilator."

Tom finally submitted to the national "health care" system, and Alfie died.