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Parents lose battle to have toddler’s life support withdrawn at home

Alta Fixsler, 2, was born with a catastrophic brain injury and doctors say she has no prospect of recovery

October 7, 2021 11:41
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1 min read

The strictly Orthodox parents of a seriously-ill toddler have lost their legal battle over the location at which her life support should be withdrawn.

Alta Fixsler, 2, was born with a catastrophic brain injury and doctors say she has no prospect of recovery. She has been under the care of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust since birth.

Her parents, who had also unsuccessfully fought against discontinuing her life-sustaining treatment, hoped the step would be taken in the family home while the trust contended that a children’s hospice or her pediatric intensive care unit were the best locations.

But in a judgment issued Wednesday, Justice MacDonald ruled it was in the toddler’s “best interests" for her to be taken off life support at a children's hospice.