Who Is Charlie Gard? Trump Offers Help To Terminally Ill 10-Month Old Set To Die

President Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday to voice his support for Charlie Gard, a 10-month-old baby whose battle for life has made it to some of Europe’s highest courts. A ruling last week said Charlie, who suffers from an extremely rare genetic condition, should be allowed to be taken off life support and would not be able to go to the United States for treatment.

“If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so,” Trump tweeted Monday.

Charlie was born in August 2016 with a rare condition known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, which causes muscle and organ dysfunction and cerebral disorders. As a result of his condition, Charlie has brain damage. After exhausting other treatment options that had no effect, his parents wanted to take him to the U.S. to undergo an experimental treatment. Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, however, refused to release the baby.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates took their case to the European Court of Human Rights, who ruled last week that the boy could not be taken to the U.S. and could be taken off life support.

Read: Charlie Gard's Parents Respond To Life Support Ruling

“The domestic courts concluded that it would be lawful for the hospital to withdraw life-sustaining treatment,” the court said in a press release announcing the decision. “Because it was likely that Charlie would suffer significant harm if his present suffering was prolonged without any realistic prospect of improvement and the experimental therapy would be of no effective benefit.”

The court also said Charlie was being “exposed to continued pain, suffering and distress and that undergoing experimental treatment with no prospects of success would offer no benefit and continue to cause him significant harm.”

Pope Francis released a statement Sunday saying Charlie’s parents should be allowed to try whatever possible to help treat their son. The statement said the Pope wanted to “express his closeness to [Charlie’s] parents.”

“For this, he prays that their wish to accompany and treat their child until the end is not neglected,” the statement said.

Read: Court Rules Charlie Gard Should Be Taken Off Life Support

At the end of last week, after the ruling was announced, Great Ormond Street Hospital said they would allow the family a bit more time with Charlie.

“We have been in talks with Great Ormond Street,” Charlie’s mother said in a Facebook post Friday. “They have agreed to give us a little bit more time. We are really grateful for all the support from the public at this extremely difficult time. We’re making precious memories that we can treasure forever with very heavy hearts. Please respect our privacy while we prepare to say the final goodbye to our son Charlie.”

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