Commentary
Hospitals need to back off their authoritarian “we know best” posture and respect what a patient’s family wants.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, Royal London Hospital stopped life support for 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, against his parents’ wishes. He was dead by 12.15 p.m. Millions had followed his case since April, when his mother found him unconscious on the floor.
Apparently, he took a dangerous dare promoted on TikTok to hold his breath until he blacked out. Archie damaged his brain and never regained consciousness.
Watching Archie’s family battle the medical establishment raised a troubling question: Will imperious hospital personnel get to dictate when the plug is pulled on someone you love? Hospitals are cutting lives short, defying families….