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Charlie Gard’s mother: Hospice order ‘denied us our final wish’
Chris Gard and Connie Yates, the parents of terminally ill 11-month-old Charlie Gard, want "quality time with Charlie away from everything, to say goodbye to him in the most loving way." Yates said Thursday that the plan to send her son to hospice “denied us our final wish.” (Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images)

Charlie Gard’s mother: Hospice order ‘denied us our final wish’

Connie Yates, the mother of Charlie Gard, a terminally ill British baby, told the BBC on Thursday that the plan to send her son to hospice “denied us our final wish.”

Earlier this week, Charlie’s parents, Yates and Chris Gard, ended their legal battle with the Great Ormond Street Hospital seeking permission to take their 11-month-old son to the United States for an experimental treatment.

An American doctor who had expressed willingness to attempt to treat Charlie, who has mitochondrial depletion syndrome, said too much time has passed for the experimental treatment to be effective.

Gard and Yates had initially requested that Charlie be allowed to spend his final days at home. They were forced to accept moving him to hospice, where they asked to spend a week with Charlie and a private medical team. The Great Ormond Street Hospital also objected to that request, arguing that it is not in Charlie’s best interests to spend additional time in a hospice.

On Thursday, High Court Judge Nicholas Francis finalized a plan to send Charlie to hospice, where he said the baby’s life support will be removed shortly after which will "inevitably result in Charlie's death.”

Yates told the BBC, "We just want some peace with our son, no hospital, no lawyers, no courts, no media, just quality time with Charlie away from everything, to say goodbye to him in the most loving way.

"Most people won't ever have to go through what we have been through. We've had no control over our son's life and no control over our son's death,” Yates said. "Despite us and our legal team working tirelessly to arrange this near impossible task, the judge has ordered against what we arranged and has agreed to what GOSH asked.”

"This subsequently gives us very little time with our son," she said.

In a statement, a hospital spokesperson said there was "simply no way” that Charlie “can spend any significant time outside of an intensive care environment safely."

"We deeply regret that profound and heartfelt differences between Charlie’s doctors and his parents have had to be played out in court over such a protracted period. It has been a uniquely painful and distressing process for all concerned,” the statement said.

Details about where and when Charlie will be moved have been kept sealed by the judge.

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