The plight of Alfie Evans, the 23-month-old boy from Liverpool, England who’s been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease and blocked by court-order from leaving the country for alternative treatment, is a tragedy on many levels.
Sadly, it’s also a microcosm of the evolving and expanding death culture gripping modern-day society.
Alfie was taken off life support earlier this week, a move dictated by Great Britain’s Supreme Court. They determined further treatment would be “unkind” and “futile.”
Little Alfie’s parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, vehemently disagree, and have been petitioning the courts to simply let them take their child to Italy for treatment. In a statement, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Foreign minister Angelino Alfano and interior minister Marco Minniti have granted citizenship to little Alfie. The Italian government hopes that in this way, being an Italian citizen will enable the immediate transfer of the child to Italy.”
Pope Francis even attempted to intervene.
“Alfie Evans must be saved!” the pontiff wrote. “His brave little body has proved again that the miracle of life can be stronger than death. Perhaps all that’s needed is some good will on the part of decision makers. Alfie, we pray for you and your recovery!”
To date, all appeals and petitions have fallen on deaf ears.
Why? What possible harm could there be in releasing this presumably terminally ill boy for treatment in another country?
For one thing, this tragedy is the predictable outcome of socialized medicine. If the courts let little Alfie go to Italy, they have to let other citizens leave for treatment, too. And that would defeat the purpose of government-controlled healthcare.
Deeper still is the pervasive and corrosive belief that man, not God, ultimately determines who lives and who dies. We see this manifest in the growing support for the legalization of euthanasia, not only in Europe, but also here in the United States. We see it in the perverse practice of “farewell parties” that are organized for people who have openly declared their own demise.
Implied if not declared in the case of Alfie Evans is a belief in the supremacy of modern-day medicine. By this standard, a doctor’s decree is absolute – and infallible. If the physician says Alfie has no chance, well, then, Alfie has no chance.
But that’s just not the case. I say this with no arrogance or bluster – though doctors know a lot, they don’t know everything.
We were told Alfie wouldn’t survive without life support, yet he holds on, though for how long, only the Lord knows.
Make no mistake. What’s unfolding in Great Britain is a version of fascism, an overreaching government usurping the rights and privileges of parents.
This tragedy should concern all of us because this type of government control is already on our doorstep and it threatens every American. It’s a gathering storm and we’re directly in its path. The many debates and controversies surrounding the euthanasia movement suggests this issue isn’t just at the door but already in the house. Just consider the infanticide epidemic in our country with nearly a million innocent babies aborted each year. Critics of the pro-life movement dismiss our concerns and suggest it’s settled law. I’m sorry, but there is nothing more unsettling than the loss of innocent life.
Incidentally, I wish Pope Francis would travel to that hospital, scoop up Alfie and dare British authorities to stop him and his parents. Can you imagine? Would they try and stop him?
Please join me in praying for Alfie and the Evans’ family.
Sign up for the weekly e-newsletter
Leave a Reply