British doctors told to let baby Charlotte die

The parents of a premature baby lost their battle yesterday to force British doctors to keep tiny 11-month-old Charlotte alive if she stops breathing a fourth time.

The case, pitting the rights of Darren and Debbie Wyatt to fight for the life of their dying, deaf baby against the power of doctors, has touched a national chord.

Doctors say Charlotte has a terrible quality of life, with "no feelings other than continuing pain", and asked the judge to approve a High Court decision last month not to resuscitate her if she stopped breathing again.

The Wyatts argued she had a real chance of survival and said doctors should do all they could to keep her alive.

"I have come to a clear view I do not believe any further aggressive treatment to prolong her life is in her best interests," Justice Hedley told London's High Court.

"The medical advice is that she should be allowed to die peacefully in her parents' arms if that is the natural course, and she should be supplied with all palliative care," he added.

Charlotte was born by caesarean section at 26 weeks, with a birth weight of 458 grammes and nearly a year later weighs just 5.6 kg. She needed ventilation for most of the first three months. Her breathing has stopped three times as a result of heart and lung conditions and she is fed through a tube.

Specialists say she cannot survive beyond infancy and may never be able to leave hospital.