Parents of critically ill infant Charlie Gard end legal battle to save his life

Chris Gard publicly apologized to his critically ill baby Charlie for not being able to save his life, as he and his wife dropped their legal bid Monday to send him to the United States for an experimental treatment after new medical tests showed the window of opportunity to help him had closed.

Gard and Connie Yates withdrew their appeal during a London High Court hearing, signalling the end of a legal saga that had stretched for months. Their lawyer, Grant Armstrong, said recent tests on 11-month-old Charlie showed the baby has irreversible muscular damage, and the new treatment wouldn't help.

"It's too late for Charlie," Armstrong said. "The damage has been done."

Armstrong said the news had left Charlie's parents extremely distressed and they now "wish to spend the maximum amount of time they have left with Charlie."

Gard, his voice cracking with emotion, lamented the fact the child will not see his first birthday in two weeks. He stressed "all we wanted to do was to take Charlie from one world-renowned hospital to another world-renowned hospital in the attempt to save his life."

"Our son is an absolute warrior and we cannot be prouder of him and we will miss him terribly," he added. "His body, heart and soul may soon be gone, but his spirit will love on for eternity and he will make a difference in people's lives for years to come, we will make sure of that."

Yates maintained her son could have lived a normal life had he been given treatment earlier

"Charlie did have a real chance of getting better," she said in tears. "Now we will never know what would have happened if he got treatment."

As the parents requested privacy and departed, a group of supporters outside the hospital chanted "Justice for Charlie!"

Hospital hit by backlash

Gard has a rare genetic condition causing progressive muscle weakness and brain damage, and his parents wanted him to receive an experimental drug treatment in the U.S.

Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London had argued that the treatment wouldn't help and could cause the child pain, so they challenged the parents' wish. The hospital wanted to switch off his life support and allow Charlie to die peacefully.

The case won international attention after Charlie's parents received support from Pope Francis, U.S. President Donald Trump and some U.S. lawmakers. Some U.S.-based activists also travelled to London to support Charlie's parents.

Some commentators have portrayed the case as a clash between a family and the state, and some U.S. conservatives have used it to criticize Britain's state-funded health care system — even though the case has never been about money.

Judge Nicholas Francis said the crux of the matter was that "in this country, children have rights independent of their parents." While parents usually decide what is best for their children, in some cases hospitals and parents disagree, he said.

• Protesters rally to support Charlie Gard's parents
• Doctor says treatment 'worth trying' for sick baby

The judge condemned the abuse and threats directed at the hospital, doctors and nurses treating Charlie, but stressed these had nothing to do with the boy's parents.

The judge had scheduled a two-day hearing to consider fresh evidence after Dr. Michio Hirano, an American neurology expert from Columbia Medical Center in New York, came to London to examine the child. But Armstrong said nothing further could be done and that it was "worthy of a Greek tragedy" that they had to withdraw their appeal just as they were about to present new evidence to the court.

The judge paid tribute to the infant's parents, saying it was impossible to comprehend the agony they faced.

"No parent could have done more for their child," he said.