A U.S doctor offering experimental treatment to a critically ill British baby visited the London hospital where he is being treated on Monday as part of a last-ditch attempt to persuade a judge to keep the boy's life support switched on.
The parents of Charlie Gard, who has a rare genetic condition causing progressive muscle weakness and brain damage, have been fighting a legal battle to send him to the United States for the neurologist's experimental therapy.
But Britain's courts have refused permission on the grounds it would prolong his suffering without a realistic prospect of it helping the 11-month-old child. The case has gained global attention after interventions by U.S. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, who have both voiced support for Charlie. It has prompted a fierce debate around the world about medical ethics and whether the hospital treating the child or his parents should determine his fate.