Reuters exclusively reported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to use new limits on traditional pollutants like ozone and coal ash to help encourage the retirement of the nation’s remaining coal-fired power plants, after the Supreme Court limited the agency’s ability to impose sweeping climate regulations.
The ruling came after the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities asked for treatment of Archie Battersbee to be continued so it could examine the case.
The parents of Archie Battersbee have fought unsuccessfully in UK courts to prevent the Royal London Hospital from turning off their son's ventilator and stopping other interventions that are keeping him alive.
(Dominic Lipinski / AP)
A UK court has ruled to end life support for a 12-year-old boy despite opposition from his parents and a last-minute intervention by the United Nations.
The Court of Appeal in London decided on Monday that doctors can switch off life support for Archie Battersbee from 1100 GMT on Tuesday.
Archie had been due to have his life support at the Royal London Hospital ended Monday afternoon after his parents failed in a domestic legal bid to halt the move.
As a last resort, Archie's parents applied to the United Nations and the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The UN committee requested on Friday that his treatment be continued while Archie's case was under consideration.
The UK government then asked the Court of Appeal to "urgently consider" his case Monday afternoon. An appeal court judge argued the UN request was not enforceable but granted a delay until 12 noon tomorrow.
The Court of Appeal is a High Court based at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Archie's parents can still ask the UK Supreme Court if it will hear the case. If it agrees, the deadline would likely be extended again.
Archie's mother, Hollie Dance, discovered him unconscious at home in April with signs he had placed a ligature over his head, possibly after taking part in an online asphyxiation challenge.
UK courts earlier found that ending life-preserving treatment for Archie was in his best interests as doctors believe he is brain-stem dead.
In an interview with Sky News, Dance condemned what she called the "choreographed execution of my son".
"It's so traumatic: to just be dragged through courts, no empathy, no compassion," she said.
The case is the latest in the UK that has pitted the judgment of doctors against the wishes of families.
In several cases, including this one, the families have been backed by a campaign organisation, the Christian Legal Centre. The centre's chief executive, Andrea Williams, tweeted that the case "goes right to the heart of protections at end of life".
Under British law, it is common for courts to intervene when parents and doctors disagree on the treatment of a child. In such cases, the rights of the child take primacy over the parents’ right to decide what’s best for their offspring.
The singer's father will also have to produce all documents requested and appear for a deposition, Rosengart said outside of the courthouse, calling it "another very good day for Britney."
"Britney obtained her freedom last November, and as many of you know, particularly in light of recent news, Britney is moving on with her life," Rosengart said, referencing the star's recent marriage. "She wants to move on with her life. And yet that man, her father, her flesh and blood, does not want that."
CNN has reached out to Jamie Spears' attorney for comment on the ruling.
"We hope (Jamie Spears) will accept his losses and simply move on and leave his daughter alone," Rosengart told CNN in a statement. "That is what any decent man, what any decent father would do."
The Grammy-winner was in a court-ordered conservatorship for 13 years before it was terminated in November. Spears' father acted as her co-conservator from the conservatorship's inception in 2008. This put him in charge of her finances and, at some points, her medical decisions.
The two faced off in court multiple times last year with things reaching a tipping point during two emotional testimonies in which the singer pleaded with the judge to end the conservatorship, calling it "abusive." Spears said she felt she had been forced to perform, was given no privacy, and was made to use birth control and take medication against her will.
Outside of court Wednesday, Rosengart also took a moment to speak on behalf of AB 1663, a California bill that would amend rules for the conservatorships process, saying that while Spears "shined a light on this issue," it is now "beyond Britney." The bill is currently making its way through the state legislature.
"This is not about Britney, this is beyond Britney," Rosengart said while surrounded by supporters of the bill. "There is a lot of people in the country and in the state who are not free and are subjected to forced abusive conservatorships. And that's something I look forward to working with legislators on, both in California and Washington DC."
