A family in the U.K. is waging an ongoing legal battle over their terminally ill toddler and are set to mount another court challenge after a judge endorsed an end-of-life care plan for Alfie Evans drawn up by specialists.
Earlier this week, parents Tom Evans and Kate James were told that a date to switch off life support for their son had been set by High Court judge Anthony Hayden.
Their 23-month-old has been at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool since December 2016 with an undiagnosed degenerative brain disease, the BBC reports.
Last month, Hayden ruled it would be in Alfie’s best interests that treatments be withdrawn, according to the Liverpool Echo.
READ MORE: Charlie Gard dies following long battle over experimental treatment
The latest legal challenge has been set for Monday after hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital to protest the decision made to turn off the toddler’s life support. The couple has lost cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal, and seen their case rejected by both the U.K. Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Pending Monday’s hearing, an appeal court judge determined Alfie would continue to receive treatment, according to The Guardian.
Once life support is removed, Evans said in a video he has the right to remove his son from hospital and that he had an air ambulance ready to fly his son to Rome for treatment.
“I have documentation that says I have the right to take my son out of the hospital,” he said in the video, holding a letter on Christian Legal Centre letterhead, but said the hospital disagrees.
“Alder Hey have phoned the police to stop me from taking my son out of the hospital.”
Evans also encouraged the protest that occurred outside the hospital, though asked people not to protest on hospital grounds. Merseyside police told the Guardian the protest was peaceful but “did cause significant traffic disruption.”
WATCH: Protest held for terminally ill boy in U.K. hospital
Alfie’s case has similarities to that of British baby Charlie Gard, who died in 2017 after his parents waged their own lengthy court battle to bring him to the U.S. for experimental treatment. He suffered from mitochondrial depletion syndrome, which causes progressive brain damage and muscle weakness.
People, including Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump, have offered help, garnering international attention and an online funding campaign raising more than $2 million for Charlie’s treatment.
Britain’s Supreme Court had ruled it was in the infant’s best interest that Charlie be allowed to die with dignity. In July, a week before he died, Charlie’s parents abandoned their legal efforts, following tests which showed the infant had irreversible muscular damage the treatment would not help with.
READ MORE: Despite global attention, British baby’s life-support to be turned off
Like Alfie’s parents, Charlie’s parents had asked to bring him home for his last days but were denied.
According to The Guardian, Evans and James’ legal advisers said they will ask judges at Monday’s hearing to overturn at least one decision made by Hayden.
—With files from Global News’ Tania Kohut.
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