The lawyer who speaks for Baby Charlie Gard, the infant fighting for his life against a government order that he should be allowed to die, has been revealed as the chairman of a charity which campaigns to make euthanasia legal in the United Kingdom.
The appointment of a legal guardian for baby Charlie, rather than allowing his parents to represent him in court, and the background of lawyer Victoria Butler-Cole, has been a source of concern to parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard.
The couple has fought an eight-month legal battle against a decision within Britain’s health service to switch off their son’s life support machine, arguing that they should be allowed to take Charlie to the United States for experimental treatment.
The Daily Telegraph reports a source close to the parents, who have “privately expressed their concern” over the appointment of Butler-Cole. The source said: “The family find it astonishing that the quango that appointed the barrister to act in the interests of Charlie Gard is the chairman of Compassion in Dying, the sister body of Dignity in Dying, formerly known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. The implication is obvious. It looks like a profound conflict of interest.”
The paper reports there is a lot of crossover between the two UK charities, and that trustees like Mrs Butler-Cole can only sit on the board of one charity if they also support the work of the other. Charity Compassion in Dying rejected the suggestion there was…