Mother fights for dying baby’s right to live

THE mother of baby Luke Winston-Jones accepted in a British court yesterday that he is terminally ill - but insisted that he should not be allowed to die without a fight.

Lawyers for 35-year-old Ruth Winston-Jones, from Holyhead in Wales, told the High Court she realised nine-month-old Luke’s life would be short and she did not want him to suffer pain. But she challenged the view of doctors that, if his condition became critical, it would not be in his best interests to resuscitate him by way of cardiac massage or mechanical ventilation.

Her counsel, Richard Lissack QC, said: “She wishes to ensure that his life is filled with love and support, that it is as dignified and as comfortable as circumstances will allow and that it ends in a dignified and peaceful way at the proper time and not before.”

Luke suffers from a rare genetic disorder, Edwards Syndrome, which severely affects most organs of the body. Few babies survive beyond a year.

The judge, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, in a hearing which continues today, is being asked by the Royal Liverpool Children’s NHS Trust and North West Wales NHS for a declaration on what treatment is required and what should be withheld in the absence of agreement between doctors and his mother.

Mr Lissack said Ruth believed Luke had “a quality of life which is worth preserving and extending - within limitations.”

So far, the baby had “defied the odds”. His mother now asked “that no steps be taken, by the withholding of treatment, to curtail further achievement by Luke.”