Baby Indi Gregory passed away after her hospital took away the 8-month-old’s life-sustaining treatment against her parents’ will.
Baby Indi was responsive, but a U.K. judge ruled that the child’s life should be cut short because her “quality of life” was “extremely limited.”
An appeals court agreed with the decision and the hospital removed her ventilator despite her parents’ protests.
Baby Indi died in her mother’s arms at 1:45 a.m. on November 13, according to British advocacy group Christian Concern.
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Indi’s parents said they “are angry, heartbroken and ashamed.” Her father, Dean Gregory, mourned, “The [National Health Service] and the Courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged.”
Indi was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease where her body struggled to turn sugar into energy. She received treatment at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Claire and Dean hoped to seek alternative treatments to help Baby Indi fight the illness, and a Vatican children’s hospital even offered to treat the child with full funding from the Italian government.
However, doctors from Britain’s National Health Service insisted that further treatment would not be beneficial, and British courts therefore rejected the family’s plea to transfer her, arguing it would be “too dangerous… given the clinical complications.”
Indi’s father argued, “Even if the transfer to Italy involves some risk, the only alternative we have been offered in the UK is to go along with Indi’s death. There is nothing to lose for us or for Indi.”
Indi’s tragic case is not unique.
Four-month-old Alfie Evans in 2018 and 11-month-old Charlie Gard in 2017 died after British courts ordered their life-sustaining treatment to be removed because their “quality of life” was too low. The Vatican offered to take care of both children, but courts denied them the chance to travel to Italy.
Even in Texas, hospitals can take away a patient’s life-sustaining treatment against the family’s will, prompting his or her death.
Four-year-old Clifton Hollier passed away in 2012 when a Houston hospital took away his ventilator. Doctors said they did not expect him to live more than 20 minutes off the ventilator, but for over an hour, his mother watched her precious child convulse and gasp for air.
Four years ago, a Fort Worth hospital planned to remove the ventilator of 9-month-old Tinslee Lewis. Texas Right to Life attorneys filed a temporary restraining order and won more time for the child to continue treatment. Today, she is at home with her family and will turn 5 years old in February.
Although Texas lawmakers passed much-needed improvements for vulnerable patients, the fact remains that it is still legal in Texas for hospitals to take away life-sustaining treatment against one’s will.
In all these cases, including Baby Indi’s, a clash of worldviews lies beneath the headlines. One worldview believes in valuing an individual human life regardless of the circumstances, and the other believes that a patient’s life only is valuable if it meets some specific criteria or level of quality.
While these stories are shocking to most, the reality is that this “quality of life” ethic has corroded our medical institutions. Being Pro-Life means we value and fight for every single person’s Right to Life, no matter their diagnosis or limitations. As western medicine continues to march down this dangerous “quality of life” path, our movement must be prepared to speak up and take action to save the least among us like Baby Indi.
Our hearts break for Baby Indi and all patients who are labeled unworthy because of their illnesses. Pray for the Gregory family and everyone who brought about the poor child’s untimely death.
