Uk Government Forces Baby to Have Life Support
An international tug-of-war has broken out over a desperately ill 2-year-old girl in England, where an American dad is fighting British doctors who want to pull the plug on her life support.
Severely brain-damaged at birth, little Alta Fixsler has been on a ventilator her entire life, requires a feeding tube and suffers from seizures. She cannot maintain a core body temperature, or even blink, at times needing her eyes taped shut.
Her doctors at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital believe Alta has "no conscious awareness," and English courts have backed the medical experts' decision to let Alta die.
But Alta's father, Abraham Fixsler, who attended yeshiva in Brooklyn as a youth, continues to fight for her life.
"There is no reason to kill my daughter like this," he insisted to The Post.
The family's 11th-hour plight has caught the bipartisan attention of powerful American pols.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY) is pushing to get the family to the United States.
"My heart breaks for the Fixsler family," Schumer told The Post.
There are doctors in the U.S. and Israel, where the family once lived, willing to treat Alta, said the desperate dad.
"There are a lot of places around the world where I can take care of my daughter and they would be happy to take care of her long term," said Fixsler, 28, who accused the British government of holding Alta and his family "hostage."
"Let me go. That's all I am saying," said Fixsler, who is also father to an 8-year-old son.
"The doctors don't think she has quality of life," Fixsler said. "But I think she has quality of life."
"This is something very, very painful."
The family has been fighting for Alta in British courts since 2019, and has faced a string of losses as the case slowly wound its way through the legal system. In May a high court judge ruled that life support could be removed. On July 9 the country's Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling, saying the decision was in Alta's best interests.
So far the British government has refused to allow Alta to leave. The issue is not one of red tape, but rather the wish of her current doctors not to see her life extended elsewhere, court papers show.
"It cannot be said to be in Alta's best interests to be transferred to Israel for life sustaining treatment to continue," ruled high court Justice Alistair MacDonald in his June decision.
Letting their daughter die would violate the family's strongly held Hasidic Jewish beliefs.
"Our value of life is built into our religious upbringing. Orthodox Judaism encourages the continuation of life until all means are exhausted," family spokesman Yossi Gestetner told The Post.
The family moved to England five years ago to be near Alta's grandparents.
Alta was born prematurely in 2018, and initially showed no signs of life, forcing doctors to resuscitate her. Left critically deprived of oxygen, with severe brain and nerve damage, physicians said the girl had no hope of recovery, court records show.
But Fixsler, who holds American and Israeli citizenship and is a legal resident of England, said he was encouraged by doctors abroad, who said there may yet be superior treatment options not available to England's price-conscious socialized healthcare system.
The family is currently awaiting a hearing to determine if England's highest court will hear their case. No date for the hearing has been set.
As the saga progressed, the case drew international attention and electrified the global Jewish community. The family's legal bills — in excess of $340,000 so far — have been paid through crowdfunding donations.
Israel has offered to take Alta Fixsler and continue her treatment there. The country's former president, Reuven Rivlin, has personally lobbied England's Prince Charles.
"Many organizations are trying to deal with Alta and to save her life and to prevent pulling the plug and killing that girl," Rabbi David Niederman, Executive Director of United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn told The Post.
Schumer has taken the lead in the U.S., securing a visa, and sending a letter to British ambassador to the U.S., Karen Pierce, demanding that no health decisions be taken against the family's wishes and that they be allowed to travel to the US.
"Her father is an American citizen and we are going to keep fighting until she is allowed to come. Her life is at stake and she is a beautiful 2 year old little girl," Schumer said.
New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez followed up with a letter of their own to Pierce saying their state's Phoenix Center for Rehabilitation and Pediatrics was ready and willing to take Alta.
Ten Republican senators have also written to President Biden. "We are profoundly troubled that the child of an American citizen is being treated this
way, in a country with whom we have a deep alliance and special relationship," they wrote. "We urge you to advocate to Prime Minister Johnson on behalf of the Fixsler family."
The White House did not respond to repeated inquiries from The Post.
"Under UK law, the decision about Alta's welfare is one for the independent judiciary and not the British Government. The courts are bound by law to make a decision on the basis of what is in Alta's best interests," Toby Usnik a rep for the British Consulate General in New York, told The Post.
Uk Government Forces Baby to Have Life Support
Source: https://nypost.com/2021/07/17/parents-fight-uk-court-demanding-they-take-daughter-off-life-support/
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