LONDON, Ont. — The family of a terminally ill Ontario infant will be appealing a judge’s ruling that they must consent to the removal of a breathing tube that is keeping the baby alive.
A friend of the family of Joseph Maraachli says no agreement has been reached between the family and the London Health Sciences Centre regarding the 13-month-old.
Alex Schadenberg said last week that the hospital had agreed to look for a compromise with the parents of baby Joseph.
Joseph suffers from a severe and worsening neurological condition and has been in the London hospital since October 2010.
His parents want doctors to perform a tracheotomy that would allow Joseph to live out his remaining days at his Windsor home.
The hospital announced Saturday that it had become the target of multiple threats over the intention to remove the baby’s breathing tube.
Schadenberg says he doesn’t know whether the threats that the hospital has received have had any impact on the ability to reach an agreement.
“These threats are unacceptable and I don’t know why people would be doing such a thing,” said Schadenberg.
“The family is not helped by these threats,” he added.
Last Monday, Joseph’s parents defied a court order to consent to the removal of the breathing tube, prompting health officials to ask Ontario’s Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee for consent to remove it.
The family is afraid the baby would suffer a painful choking death if the tube was removed.
Joseph’s parents lost an appeal before the Ontario Superior Court earlier this month.