The parents of Archie Battersbee have submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights in a bid to postpone the withdrawal of his life support.
Lawyers acting for Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee had been given a deadline of 9am on Wednesday to submit the application.
On Tuesday evening, Ms Dance said Barts Health NHS Trust would begin to withdraw Archie’s life support at 11am on Wednesday unless the family submitted the application to the Strasbourg-based court by 9am.
12-year-old Archie Battersbee remains on life-support.
Hollie Dance
Archie Battersbee's mother, Hollie Dance, has been battling to keep her son alive.
Yui Mok
Archie Battersbee’s mum, Hollie Dance, said: “We are very relieved. We are having to battle every decision with the hospital.
“We now hope and pray that the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) will look favourably on the application. We will not give up on Archie until the end.”
The 12-year-old has been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother in April and is currently being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.
Archie was found unconscious at his home by his mum on April 7 and has not regained consciousness since.
Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee were granted a Court of Appeal hearing on Monday after the Government asked judges to urgently consider a request from a UN committee to keep treating Archie while it reviews his case.
But, after considering the matter, three judges refused to postpone the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment beyond midday on Tuesday.
They also refused to grant permission to appeal against their ruling at the Supreme Court.
Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee filed an application directly with the Supreme Court, asking for his treatment to continue so the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) could have time to consider their complaint, made last week.
