The parents of a baby born with a severe birth defect are battling in a British court over whether to switch off the child's life support.
The mother sides with doctors and favors disconnecting the baby's respirator. The father took the case to the High Court in London to stop them.
The child's life is miserable, sad and pitiful, lawyers for the hospital said in court. The child's lungs fill with fluid every few hours - giving him the sensation he is choking - and doctors must then use suction to remove the fluid, also causing the child to suffer.
The father says the baby, who is 12 months old, can play and recognize his parents. His lawyers plan to show videos in court to demonstrate the baby responds to the world around himself.
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The baby's parents are amicably separated, the father's lawyer said. The baby, known simply as RB, suffers from congenital myasthenic syndrome, a rare genetic condition, which means he cannot breathe on his own.
A fresh medical assessment is to be carried out on the baby boy.
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