Vatican pro-life academy draws criticism for 'cowardly' statement on withdrawal of life support of terminally-ill baby

The Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life has drawn criticisms for its statement regarding the withdrawal of life support of Charlie Gard, a 10-month-old baby who suffers from a rare genetic disease.

Charlie's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, wanted to take their son to the U.S. for an experimental treatment, but the U.K. Supreme Court last month ruled that the treatment would only prolong the baby's suffering without any prospect of helping him. They appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn the ruling, but it refused to intervene.

After the European court declined the parents' appeal, the Pontifical Academy for Life issued a statement, describing the case as a very "complex" situation.

"[W]e must also accept the limits of medicine and, as stated in paragraph 65 of the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, avoid aggressive medical procedures that are disproportionate to any expected results or excessively burdensome to the patient or the family," the statement from the academy read.

The academy's statement stands in contrast to a tweet from Pope Francis, which emphasized that it is a "duty of love that God entrusts to all" to defend human life. The pope's tweet was posted on his English and Italian language accounts several hours after the academy issued the statement, Life News reported.

T. Becket Adams, a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner, described the academy's statement as "cowardly."

"Reading this cowardly Vatican sttmnt on baby Gard's death sentence reminds me of the 'shhh' in Mellish's final scene in Saving Private Ryan," he wrote, referring to a 1998 war movie.

On July 2, the Vatican issued a statement saying Pope Francis is offering his prayers for the baby, and asking that his parents' wishes be respected.

"The Holy Father follows with affection and emotion the story of Charlie Gard and expresses his own closeness to his parents," read a statement issued by Vatican spokesman Greg Burke. "He prays for them, wishing that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end will be respected," he added.

Charlie was admitted to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London in October and was diagnosed as suffering from a mitochondrial disease that causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.

The baby's parents had subsequently discovered that 18 people in the U.S. had been treated with an oral medication to remedy the rare condition.

While the parents are aware that no cure has been promised, the hospital has argued that removing Charlie's life support would be in his "best interests."

Gard and Yates have received 1.3 million pounds ($1.68 million) from more than 83,000 donors to help pay for Charlie's treatment in the U.S.

A day after the Vatican conveyed its support for Charlie, U.S. President Donald Trump also expressed his intention to help the family.

"If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so," the president wrote in a tweet.