Is America the Last Pro-Life Refuge?

British baby Charlie Gard has made headlines around the world because the British medical establishment and the British government, in the person of various judges, all want to kill him.

Charlie’s crime is that he suffers from severe birth defects, caused by mitochondrial depletion syndrome, which the medical establishment and the British government deem makes him less than human and therefore not deserving of life.

To their great credit, Charlie’s parents have fought to keep him alive and to bring him to America for treatment—some of it experimental—that might preserve or at least prolong his life.

Click here to learn more about the eight myths surrounding Charlie Gard’s condition.

They have been joined in this battle by President Donald Trump who tweeted: “If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.”

Pope Francis, through the Vatican press office, also issued a statement last week saying that the pontiff was following the case “with affection and emotion” and “expresses his own closeness to his [Charlie’s] parents.”

Pope Francis hopes “that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end is not ignored,” said the statement. The Vatican’s Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital has also offered to treat Charlie

Republican Congressmen Brad Wenstrup and Trent Franks who will introduce a bill to the House of Representatives this week calling for the 11-month old baby—who is on life-support in a London hospital—and his parents to be granted permanent residence in the United States.

“Our bill will support Charlie’s parents’ right to choose what is best for their son by making Charlie a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. in order for him to receive treatments that could save his life,” the congressmen said in a joint statement released Friday.

Last week New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center offered to admit Charlie and to provide him with experimental treatment, according to The Washington Post.

The hospital also offered to send the drug to Great Ormond Street Hospital—the British hospital where Charlie is being treated—if approved, according to the Post.

All of these extraordinary measures to keep baby Charlie alive are being taken without the assistance of the human rights laws of Great Britain and the European Union.

Such laws are routinely relied upon to keep terrorists from being deported and to mitigate the sentences of criminals, but they are apparently to no avail in preserving the life of a child whose condition might be treated with new experimental therapies.

Instead, to save Charlie, his parents have had to rely upon American support and assistance.

A petition, organized by Americans United for Life, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C. has been signed by more than 370,000 people: “Please save Charlie Gard! Do not remove his life support,” the petition read, “I, and the entire international community, will be outraged if you kill Charlie Gard.”

Charlie’s parents are also being supported by outspoken pro-life advocate Reverend Patrick Mahoney, pastor at the Church on the Hill in Washington D.C. who went to London to drum up support to keep Charlie alive.

However, a Twitter account promoting Charlie’s right to life said the pastor was turned away by doctors when he asked to go into Charlie’s room to pray by his bedside.

In a statement tweeted from the account, @Fight4Charlie, Charlie’s mother Connie Yates said “We are heartbroken that after we invited Rev. Mahoney to come to England and pray for our son Charlie, Great Ormond Street Hospital has turned him away. Once again, the hospital doesn’t care about Chris and my wishes.”

Charlie’s parents have raised over 1.2 million pounds to pay for his treatment, but the British medical establishment and the British government still want to kill him—and the much-vaunted human rights laws of the European Union have been of no protection in preserving Charlie’s right to life.

Our Declaration of Independence made America the first and last refuge of those who believe that the right to life is an inalienable right of every human being. We urge readers to join the fight to preserve Charlie Gard’s life by going to the Americans United for Life website and signing the #IAmCharlieGard petition and then calling your Congressman and Senators to urge them to support the Wenstrup–Franks bill to grant Charlie and his parents permanent residency in the United States to facilitate his treatment. The Capitol Switchboard is 1-866-220-0044. {eoa}

George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie’s ConservativeHQ.com.

This article was originally published at ConservativeHQ.com. Used with permission.