A senator and a former governor spoke out against the U.K. healthcare system's treatment of 23-month-old Alfie Evans, who is at the center of a legal battle over whether he should be allowed to seek treatment outside the country, according to The Guardian.
Here are four things to know about the case.
1. Alfie Evans was diagnosed with a progressive neurodegenerative disorder so severe an MRI scan reportedly showed "a brain that had been almost entirely wiped out," according to a U.K. High Court judge cited in a second Guardian report. The court has rejected multiple attempts by the child's parents to prevent Liverpool, U.K.-based Alder Hey Children's Hospital physicians from detaching Alfie's ventilator. The court has also denied the child's transportation to a hospital in the Vatican to receive treatment.
2. Alfie's parents are reportedly in the midst of negotiating with Alder Hey physicians to bring Alfie home and receive palliative care, according to BBC News. His case mirrors that of 11-month-old Charlie Gard, who died last July — one week before his first birthday — after being denied the opportunity to receive treatment abroad for an incurable medical condition.
3. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted a series of comments about Alfie's case April 24, criticizing the U.K. healthcare system for its treatment of Alfie.
"I urge the UK gov to grant the Evans family's request to treat their precious child in Italy. Americans strive to achieve the promise of 'life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness' for all our citizens, no matter how young or old," Mr. Cruz wrote.
4. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also commented on the case to Fox News, stating Alfie's case "is what happens when government gets in complete control of a healthcare system," and that "the British government is deciding it's God and it is going to make the decision of life or death," according to The Guardian.
To access The Guardian report, click here.