House Committee Passes Amendment That Would Make Charlie Gard US Resident

The legislation is slated for a vote on the House floor next week.

By Liberty McArtor Published on July 19, 2017

The House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to grant Charlie Gard permanent U.S. residency. The move is part of an effort to help the British 11-month-old, who suffers from a rare and severe medical condition, to receive the therapy being denied him by London doctors and U.K. courts.  

Introduced by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, the amendment was added to the Homeland Security spending bill. Beutler’s daughter was born with a rare disease that is usually fatal, but is alive today thanks to treatment, CNN reported

β€œThis amendment would speed up the process, cut through the bureaucratic red tape, and ease the path for Charlie to be able to receive medical treatment in the U.S. that his parents and medical specialists believe is worth pursuing,” Beutler said in a press release.

The spending bill will go before a vote on the House floor next week. It would have to pass a Senate vote and then be signed by Trump before becoming law.

Beutler’s amendment is not the first attempt by Republican House members to help Charlie. Last week, Reps. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio and Trent Franks of Arizona introduced a bill that would also make Charlie a permanent U.S. resident. Their efforts follow an earlier tweet by Trump offering to help Charlie, and a statement by Pope Francis in support of his parents.

Battle for Charlie’s Life

Charlie suffers from severe mitochondrial depletion syndrome. He cannot move or breathe on his own. His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, have raised well over $1 million to take him to the U.S. for nucleoside therapy. But Charlie’s doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London contend he should be taken off life support. They argue that the treatment has no chance of working because of brain damage he has reportedly suffered from seizures. They say treatment would prolong any suffering Charlie may be experiencing.

Last week Charlie’s parents went before the High Court in London to argue their case. It was the latest in a long series of legal battles over their son’s care. Judge Nicholas Francis at the High Court sided with the doctors in April, saying Charlie should be taken off life support. Gard and Yates appealed the case, only to be ruled against repeatedly and ultimately rejected by the European Court of Human Rights.

GOSH applied for a rehearing at the High Court after Dr. Michio Hirano of New York and several other medical experts signed a letter saying new evidence suggests nucleoside therapy has a better chance of helping Charlie than previously thought.

Francis warned it would take “new or dramatic” evidence to change his mind. But after Hirano testified via video chat on Thursday, Francis admitted the new evidence was “significant.”

On Thursday Hirano testified that there is an at least 10 percent chance the nucleoside therapy could help Charlie. He also testified in April, but said he had since had time to do more research and review more data. Hirano also said he didn’t think Charlie was in significant pain.

Meeting in London

Earlier this week Hirano traveled to the U.K. and met with Charlie’s doctors at GOSH for several hours to review his medical records and most recent brain scans. Yates was also present, after the family’s attorney, Grant Armstrong, argued in court for her right to attend.

A transcript of the meeting will be delivered to Francis for consideration. He is expected to make a decision by July 25. He previously said “It would be entirely wrong for [Charlie] to be transferred without my being involved,” according to the Daily Mail.

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