Charlie Gard's mother, Connie Yates, has made an emotional appearance on Good Morning Britain to talk about her ongoing court battle to keep her terminally ill son alive. Connie and her partner Chris Gard are fighting to keep ten-month-old Charlie on life support machine, and have now taken their legal battle to the European Court of Human Rights. "We're not horrible people," Connie said, as she spoke to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
"It's made out like 'parents think they know best', but we are being blocked from one team of doctors to go to another team of doctors. They are experts and it's a reputable hospital. I don't see why a child has to die, other children have had this [treatment]. It's been tested on animals before, they are all natural compounds that all of us produce, it's not harmful." She added: "We love our son with every ounce of our being."
Charlie Gard's parents, Chris and Connie, want their son to undergo treatment in the US
This week it was ruled that Charlie must continue to receive life support until judges decide on whether he should undergo a trial treatment in the US. Parents Connie and Chris launched a final legal challenge at the European Court of Human Rights after a Supreme Court challenge failed, and doctors have been instructed to keep the little boy alive until judgement is passed. Specialists at Great Ormond Street have stated that Charlie has no chance of survival. He has been in intensive care since October, and his doctors say he cannot move, hear, cry or swallow, and that his lungs only move because he is on a machine.
Charlie is thought to be one of 16 children in the world to have mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. His parents have said he is getting stronger and have requested to take him to the US for experimental treatment. Their plight has promoted an outpouring of support, with some 83,000 well-wishers donating more than £1.3million to fund the treatment.