Charlie Gard’s parents have given up hope on getting their infant son an experimental treatment in the United States that could bring him steps closer to recovery. They have realised that it is too late for the treatment to work, so they are ending their five-month legal battle and Charlie will shortly be taken off life support.

Charlie’s mother, Connie Yates, gave a statement to a packed courtroom. She said that “there is one simple reason” why Charlie’s condition worsened to the point where they have to now give up on hope, and that is, quite simply, “time...a whole lot of wasted time.” She said, “Our poor boy has been left to just lie in hospital for months without any treatment” during the legal battle.

Everyone was emotional outside the court

The supporters who were waiting outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London got highly emotional when the news broke that thanks to the lengthy legal battle, Charlie’s parents were giving up on fighting for his life and had lost hope. The protestors got angry and broke into years, chanting out, “Shame on you, Judge!” and “Shame on GOSH!” GOSH stands for the Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie has been kept on life support until now. However, part of Yates’ statement was that GOSH’s care for Charlie has been “second to none.”