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Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Grant U.S. Resident Status to Charlie Gard
ju;y 8 2017 Two Republican members of Congress said they plan to introduce legislation next week that would grant lawful permanent resident status in the United States to critically ill baby Charlie Gard and his parents to allow the child to leave the U.K. and receive experimental treatment in America.
“Despite Charlie’s heartbreaking condition, his parents have refused to give up hope,” said Reps. Brad Wenstrup (OH) and Trent Franks (AZ). “They have advocated for him fiercely. They have raised over £1 million to pay for their son to receive experimental treatment in the United States. They have kept fighting for his life.
The treatment is experimental. If it works it would be of incalculable value and save many lives. If the treatment works it will lead to a cure.
Anyone have any idea what we can do to get the RWs or
GOP to give a damn about American kids?
You think.The treatment is experimental. If it works it would be of incalculable value and save many lives. If the treatment works it will lead to a cure.
A cure for what?? The condition this kid has is extremely rare. Let england spend THEIR money on this experiment. THINK
The House Appropriations Committee on Monday approved by voice vote an amendment to the FY 2018 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill granting lawful permanent residence, to enable the infant to receive pioneering medical treatment in the U.S. Chris Gard and Constance Yates have been engaged in a drawn-out legal battle with a London hospital since a judge last April ruled that their baby boy, who has a rare genetic condition and is on life support, should be allowed to die. That same judge has indicated he will issue a new ruling next Tuesday, after he reviews the evaluation of an American neurology specialist, Dr. Michio Hirano of Columbia University Medical Center, on the potential treatment known as “nucleoside” therapy.
Charlie’s parents have raised more than $1.7 million for the treatment on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe. The amendment offering U.S. residency to them and their child, whose will turn one on August 4, was proposed by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) “I strongly believe, having faced similar circumstances, that parents have the most at stake when it comes to standing up for their children,” she told the committee ahead of the vote. “It would allow – cut through some of the bureaucratic paperwork and allow Charlie to be a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. in order to ease their path to receive treatments that could save his life.”
Herrera Beutler can identify with what Charlie’s parents are going through better than most people: Four years ago she was told her unborn baby girl had Potter’s Syndrome, a rare and usually fatal condition that affects development of the kidneys. She and her husband Dan later recalled a doctor advising them to have an abortion, but the pro-life congresswoman chose to “contend” with the challenge and fight for Abigail’s life. Kidneys are essential for the production of amniotic fluid in the womb, and most babies with Potter’s Syndrome carried to term are stillborn or die very soon after death, usually from respiratory failure resulting from underdeveloped lungs.
But the Beutlers managed to convince a doctor to give Abigail saline injections in utero to fight the condition – an experimental treatment that other doctors were reluctant to consider. The “miracle” child, who received a kidney from her father last year, turned four last week. She is believed to be the first baby to have survived birth with no kidneys. Abigail was on her mother’s lap during the House Appropriations Committee voting, according to a photo she posted on Twitter. Should it pass into law, Herrera Beutler’s amendment will allow Charlie Gard and his parents to enter the U.S. within two years of its enactment.
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Staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital have received death threats over the treatment of baby Charlie Gard. The hospital said police had been called after families were "harassed" and "unacceptable behaviour" was recorded in the hospital. It is involved in a legal battle to remove life support from the 11-month-old, who has a rare genetic disorder. His parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard said they did not condone abuse and had also faced "nasty and hurtful remarks". Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter although Charlie's case was "sad and complex", this behaviour was "totally unacceptable".
The hospital said "unacceptable behaviour" had been recorded "within the hospital"
Charlie, who was born on 4 August 2016, has a form of mitochondrial disease, a condition that causes progressive muscle weakness and irreversible brain damage, and his parents want to take him to the US for pioneering treatment. They have lost a succession of court cases to overturn the hospital's decision that it would be in the best interest of the child to be allowed to die with dignity. The latest court battle involves new testimony from a US neurologist who has visited Charlie in hospital to decide whether he should travel to America for therapy.
Charlie's parents want to take him to New York for experimental treatment, which the US doctor said might give him a 10% chance of improving his health. Mary MacLeod, chairman of Great Ormond Street Hospital, said in a statement that Charlie's case was "a heartbreaking one", adding the hospital understood the "natural sympathy people feel with his situation". However, in recent weeks the hospital community had been subjected to a "shocking and disgraceful tide of hostility and disturbance," she said.
Connie Yates and Chris Gard want Charlie to receive an experimental therapy called nucleoside
She added: "Staff have received abuse both in the street and online. "Thousands of abusive messages have been sent to doctors and nurses whose life's work is to care for sick children. "Many of these messages are menacing, including death threats. "Families have been harassed and discomforted while visiting their children, and we have received complaints of unacceptable behaviour even within the hospital itself." Ms MacLeod, who also chairs the hospital's clinical ethics committee, said "there can be no excuse" for patients, families and staff "to have their privacy and peace disturbed".
'Totally unacceptable'
Charlie Gard is 11 months old and has a rare genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. His parents, Christopher Gard and Connie Yates, have repeatedly asked the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to release their child and let him receive experimental treatment in the United States or at the Vatican hospital. The London hospital has refused and says Charlie's condition is hopeless and he should be put to death by removing his ventilator. The case currently is under another legal review in the High Court in London, which previously ruled for the hospital.
Doctors in America and in Rome disagree that the situation is hopeless and have offered to treat Charlie Gard, if the hospital will release him. The parents' position to seek treatment is supported by President Donald Trump, Pope Francis, members of the European Parliament, members of the UK Parilament, and many members of Congress. Last week, House Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) introduced an amendment to the Department of Homseland Security funding bill that would grant permanent legal status to Charlie Gard and his parents, allowing them to seek treatment in the United States. On July 18, the amendment passed unanimously in the House Appropriations Committee. Now it needs to go to the full House for a vote.
Protestors outside the London High Court.
In a July 20 letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), 49 members of Congress said, "We write regarding legislation that will secure residency for Charlie Gard and his parents. As you know, this is a time-sensitive issue related to a child's fight for his life and the right of his parents to seek care for his condition." "We urge you to bring legislation to the floor for a vote before the House of Representatives adjourns for the month of August," wrote the congressmen. "Legislation has been introduced that would grant lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. to Charlie Gard and his parents in order that he may come to the U.S. to receive medical treatment and contrinue to fight for his life," reads the letter. "Not only does experimental treatment provide the only chance to save Charlie's life, it also offers the opportunity for Charlie to positively impact the chance of recovery for others suffering from this condition in the future," state the congressmen. "Time is of the essence in this little boy's life. Once again, we respectfull urge you to bring legislation to the floor before the House adjourns."
In a July 11 commentary on the case, Rep. Franks (R-Ariz.) said, "In the twisted, upside-down case of a little 11-month-old baby boy named Charlie Gard, doctors and the judiciary have said that, not only is there no hope, but rather than release Charlie to the care of his parents, they have also omnisciently decided to literally hold him hostage – insisting not only that Charlie must die but that he also must be in their "care" when he does. It is a case that rocks America to our core, because if something like this can happen across the pond, it can certainly happen here. "... It would be one thing for the courts and hospital to say they can no longer be part of keeping Charlie alive and release him in this instance to his parents who love him more than anyone else on earth. It is something far different to arrogantly refuse Charlie's parents the right to try to save him. Charlie’s humanity, his mother and father’s parental rights, and the rights of all of the disabled are at stake in this small child’s case....
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You think.The treatment is experimental. If it works it would be of incalculable value and save many lives. If the treatment works it will lead to a cure.
A cure for what?? The condition this kid has is extremely rare. Let england spend THEIR money on this experiment. THINK
England is not experimenting with a cure for this condition. The only research going on is with this one place. It is extremely rare. The researchers could just sit and wait for someone else to show up and pass on this opportunity.
There is a reason for that. The further we slide to the Socialist Utopia, the less advancement the world will see.England is not experimenting with a cure for this condition. The only research going on is with this one place. It is extremely rare. The researchers could just sit and wait for someone else to show up and pass on this opportunity.
Yep. Research ends with the death of the free market. The Left claims to worship science, but they are serious about killing the golden goose. Stupid fools!Of course. In the socialist utopia there is no need for medical advancement at all. Sick people will be humanely put down. All the advancements over the years would never happen under socialism.
