# The Charlie Gard case(terminally ill baby and parental rights) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 7, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664 "2017-07-07T02:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/201 "2017-07-16T20:52:15Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > But like what is he going to do? The only thing I can think of is calling up the FDA and tell them to hurry up approval. None of the participants are very susceptible to Presidential pressure. And reallly, this isn’t really America’s frigging business. The last thing we need is any president getting directly involved in FDA decisions. This isn’t our issue and Trump needs to stay out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/202 "2017-07-17T04:47:15Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > But like what is he going to do? The only thing I can think of is calling up the FDA and tell them to hurry up approval. None of the participants are very susceptible to Presidential pressure. And reallly, this isn’t really America’s frigging business. And… what’s wrong with calling up the FDA and saying “Can you expedite this?” There are allowances for “compassionate use” situations. No, it’s not “America’s business” but if someone in America can help why not? This is not a typical situation and thus considering cutting some of the usual red tape is not unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/203 "2017-07-17T08:57:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > And… what’s wrong with calling up the FDA and saying “Can you expedite this?” There are allowances for “compassionate use” situations. > > No, it’s not “America’s business” but if someone in America can help why not? This is not a typical situation and thus considering cutting some of the usual red tape is not unreasonable. The “compassionate use” regulations are perfectly adequate to deal with situations like this. There is no interference from Trump required. These sort of decisions are best kept apolitical. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/204 "2017-07-17T11:21:51Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > And… what’s wrong with calling up the FDA and saying “Can you expedite this?” There are allowances for “compassionate use” situations. > > No, it’s not “America’s business” but if someone in America can help why not? This is not a typical situation and thus considering cutting some of the usual red tape is not unreasonable. The FDA must be apolitical and outside of political influence. Compassionate use doesn’t require FDA approval, but importantly it shouldn’t come from political involvement. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/205 "2017-07-17T11:33:19Z")
What, you think Trump is going to overrule FDA? I serioisuly doubt he will do that or even if the very large bureaucracy between him and the deicision making process will even let him. WHat he is going to say is “lets do all we can to help little Charlie”, and it will be the FDS and other agencies which will figure out how to do so. BTW, if you think the FDA is not political, then you are being pretty naive. Many of its actions on big tciket items, such as refusing to do foreign drugs lisensing, and its way too close relationship with Big Pharma illustrate it… ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/206 "2017-07-17T12:35:37Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Compassionate use doesn’t require FDA approval, but importantly it shouldn’t come from political involvement. The American doctors offering the treatment have specifically said they need FDA approval. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/207 "2017-07-17T14:02:40Z")
Right, there’s an issue with transporting an unapproved treatment across a national border that requires FDA approval/exception. I’m not saying Trump should go in there blustering and threatening, but calling an agency head and saying “expedite this if possible, can we fast-track this?” is hardly out of line. I have the feeling that most of the objection is due to the person who can do this being Trump rather than someone else. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/208 "2017-07-17T14:09:12Z")
Actually, I wouldn’t have a problem with Trump giving them such a call but even if it was Obama I wouldn’t want him exerting anymore pressure than that. I would think, given the international profile of the story, that such a call would be superfluous anyway. I doubt the FDA is going to drag its heels on this. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/209 "2017-07-17T14:20:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > In this particular case, I’m siding with the parents. Not because think they are making the best decision, but because I think it should be their decision to make. > . _Why_ exactly do you think it should be their decision to make? Why do you think that they are in a better position to decide than the doctors/judges? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/210 "2017-07-17T17:26:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Right, there’s an issue with transporting an unapproved treatment across a national border that requires FDA approval/exception. > > I’m not saying Trump should go in there blustering and threatening, but calling an agency head and saying “expedite this if possible, can we fast-track this?” is hardly out of line. I have the feeling that most of the objection is due to the person who can do this being Trump rather than someone else. No-I think a lot of the objection is that Trump is incapable of such restraint…and that objections seems to have been proven to be true. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/211 "2017-07-17T21:14:06Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > The American doctors offering the treatment have specifically said they need FDA approval. That may be true, but it still would be ethically wrong for any president to call the FDA to exert any kind of influence, minor or large. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/212 "2017-07-20T07:04:04Z")
Bumping for updates: I haven’t seen anything in my newsfeeds in the last couple of days, wondering if anything has changed. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/213 "2017-07-20T10:26:50Z")
AFAIK additional researchers have offered what they claim is new evidence on the potential efficacy of the proposed experimental treatment, and one of the US researchers has been given access by the hospital to the child and to his medical records for a thorough assessment, before the whole thing comes back before the judge. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/214 "2017-07-23T16:28:25Z")
An [update](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/07/22/charlie-gards-parents-curse-sob-and-storm-out-of-courtroom-over-brain-scan/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_wv-charliegard-635pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a66f732a938b). Poor kiddo, poor parents. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/215 "2017-07-24T14:29:58Z")
[Charlie Gard: Parents end legal fight to take baby to US](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-40708343) > [@](#): > > Grant Armstrong said Charlie’s parents had made the decision after a US doctor said it was too late to give him nucleoside therapy. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/216 "2017-07-24T14:30:10Z")
[A further update:](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40708343)the parents have ended their legal fight. Apparently, the American doctor who came over with a view to treating Charlie with this experimental drug has said he was no longer willing to treat Charlie following a new MRI scan. Poor parents and Charlie indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/217 "2017-07-24T15:58:22Z")
This is all desperately sad but I think the parents and Charlie should now be able to find some peace with this situation. The parents did everything they could and the medical staff have been vindicated to a point where, hopefully, trust is regained and the palliative process can be undertaken in a more relaxed environment. Better for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/218 "2017-07-24T16:34:54Z")
The problem are all the ill-informed, overly emotional followers of this story, some of whom have been sending _death threats_ to the hospital staff. They need to cool off and go home. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/219 "2017-07-24T23:20:01Z")
Maybe the unused donations will now be handed over to Great Ormond St Hospital - I am confident that they would make good use of it. On the general point, I think that most people really don’t want to be kept alive past the point at which a return to any kind of normality is possible. Yes it is hard to establish that point, but I certainly would not want to end my days in a hospital bed wired up to machines that were keeping me “alive”. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664/220 "2017-07-25T00:47:26Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Maybe the unused donations will now be handed over to Great Ormond St Hospital - I am confident that they would make good use of it. Since I suspect the parents wouldn’t piss on that hospital if it were on fire I very much doubt the money will go to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-charlie-gard-case-terminally-ill-baby-and-parental-rights/790664.md?page=12)