Archie Battersbee’s mother has claimed she has suffered “constant bullying” on social media with people saying her son is “rotting” and even that they would “take him off life support themselves”.
The 12-year-old’s life support will be turned off at 10am on Saturday with the family “devastated” said Christian Concern, the campaign group that has been helping the Battersbees.
It comes after Archie’s family lost their latest legal bids to have him transferred from hospital to a hospice to die.
The boy’s parents applied to the Court of Appeal on Friday, after losing a High Court bid to have him moved to a hospice before his life-sustaining treatment is withdrawn. But the court confirmed shortly after 6.30pm that permission to appeal had been refused.
And the European Court of Human Rights has also said it will not intervene.
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Archie’s family are now “spending precious time with Archie” said Christian Concern, with all legal routes “exhausted”.
His mum Hollie Dance has said how she has had to deal with online abuse while going through the trauma of Archie’s condition and the court cases.
“There has been constant bullying on social media," she told the Daily Mail. "I’ve never lied about a thing. I’ve been open and honest about everything that has happened but it’s not enough for people. I’ve been messaged to say Archie is 'rotting' that he 'should be six-feet under'. I’ve even had people say they will come to the hospital and take him off life support themselves.’
She continued: "Others have published my address, which jeopardises my son and daughter’s safety. I try not to engage with it because for every one troll there are a thousand wonderful people out there and these nasty-minded souls are not important but it’s hard. Anyone seen coming to court with me that been targeted too, sent vile messages on social media."
His parents have fought a long-running legal battle over the withdrawal of treatment, which ultimately failed when the European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene.
Their focus then shifted to trying to get their son moved to a hospice but in a ruling at the High Court on Friday morning Mrs Justice Theis concluded it was not in Archie's best interests to be moved.
The boy has been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother in April and is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.
The family had sought permission to challenge Mrs Justice Theis's ruling but the Court of Appeal judges considering the application concluded the High Court judge had dealt "comprehensively with each of the points raised on behalf of the parents".
The Court of Appeal judges said they had "reached the clear conclusion that each of her decisions was right for the reasons she gave".
They added: "It follows that the proposed appeal has no prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear an appeal."
The Court of Appeal judges also said one of the arguments presented by Archie's parents was "flawed legally", adding: "It is also not easy to understand as it seeks to argue that Archie's best interests have ceased to be relevant."
Doctors treating the schoolboy for the last four months declared Archie to be "brain-stem dead", prompting a lengthy but ultimately failed legal battle by his family to continue his life support treatment in the hope he would recover.
READ MORE: Archie Battersbee's life support to be turned off today after final appeal fails
