The death of baby Charlie Gard last night following a bitter court battle has drawn prayers and commiserations from around the world.
The 11-month-old baby suffered from an extremely rare genetic condition causing progressive brain damage and muscle weakness, and his parents' long struggle to save him drew an international outpouring of sympathy, including from US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis.
'Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie,' Connie Yates, the baby's mother, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
Downing Street issued a statement from Prime Minister Theresa May saying: 'I am deeply saddened by the death of Charlie Gard. My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie's parents Chris and Connie at this difficult time.'
Pope Francis said on Twitter: 'I entrust little Charlie to the Father and pray for his parents and all those who loved him.'
US Vice-President Mike Pence, who controversially used the case to argue against state-funded healthcare systems, said on Twitter: 'Saddened to hear of the passing of Charlie Gard. Karen & I offer our prayers & condolences to his loving parents during this difficult time.'
After a harrowing legal battle that prompted a global debate over who has the moral right to decide the fate of a sick child, a judge on Thursday ordered that Charlie be moved to a hospice where the ventilator that kept him alive would be turned off.
Yates and the baby's father Chris Gard had wanted Charlie to undergo a treatment that has never been tried on anyone with his condition before, against the advice of doctors at his London hospital who said it would not benefit him and would prolong his suffering.
Charlie required a ventilator to breathe and was unable to see, hear or swallow.
The case drew comment from Trump, who tweeted on July 3 that 'we would be delighted' to help Charlie.
Britain's courts, after hearing a wealth of medical evidence, ruled that it would go against Charlie's best interests to have the experimental nucleoside therapy advocated by a US professor of neurology, Michio Hirano.
The case prompted heated debate on social media and in the press on medical ethics, and staff at the Great Ormond Street Hospital which treated him received abuse and death threats.
Additional reporting by Reuters
